OUAT- The White Heart Leyend
by Linrei26
Summary: What will happen if Regina Mills had a curse on her own, and only Emma Swan will be able to safe her from it? It starts after the final episode of season two. It has a lot of action, drama and Swan Queen all the way. Yeah! Changed to M for later chapters.
1. The Siren's Call Part I

This is my version of season three.

I'm re-uploading this chapter to correct past mistakes.

Thanks so much to my **beta reader** **Bloodymary2!** Mary you are awesome thank you so much!

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own OUAT or Disney!

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**The Siren's Call Part I**

Emma's body swung violently when the Jolly Roger was swallowed by a green whirlpool of magic. The next thing she felt was what seemed like she a punch to the stomach. Her only reaction was loosing her footing and she ended up smashed into the other side of the ship. She could hear her Mary Margaret screaming her name, but the sick felling in her whole body was too strong. When she realized that she was going overboard if she didn't react soon, it was already too late. Fortunately, two strong arms wrapped around her hip steadying her against the wooden floor of the ship. Emma hadn't even noticed her eyes were closed, until she opened them and saw a storm of wind, swirling darkness and light surrounding them completely. The hands leaving her waist pulled her from her awe, especially when the owner of those hands took her own pair and wrapped them forcibly against a long rope that hung from the mast.

"Hold your ground! We need to steady the ship!" Regina shouted next to her before launching herself at another set of ropes nearer the stern, where Hook struggled with the helm. Emma heard Hook giving orders for them to lower the mainsail, and without hesitation she started pulling the rope in her hands with all the strength she had. She saw Regina, David and Mary Margaret trying to do the same. The powerful rocking of the ship, the whipping wind and the heavy rain of salty water upon them were excruciating. Emma could tell that the energy of the crew was going down.

"At three!" Emma screamed gaining the attention of the crew. "One! Two!... Three!" The four of them pulled the rope with all their strength and the mainsail went down almost immediately. Unexpectedly, the whirlpool disappeared and the sky became instantly clearer. The Holly Rogers was now floating calmly at open sea. Emma looked around, flabbergasted by the sudden change in their surroundings. _What the hell happened?_

"Welcome to Neverland." Hook said while gazing a huge island lingering at the horizon.

"That's it?" Emma asked.

"It certainly is, dearie." Gold stood next to her, gazing at the island. "From now on, we must be very careful, especially if we want Henry safe."

"You've said that we should be scared of something, what is it?" Emma asked, annoyed at Gold for holding back important information.

"Peter Pan." Hook said, surprising Emma.

"Are you kidding me? We are supposed to be scared of a little boy in green pajamas?" Eyes wide, hands on hips, Emma looked at the pirate incredulously.

"He is nothing like the stories you heard before, dearie. He is the source of all evil, including mine." Gold explained calmly, with a warning look send her way.

"We should go to ground and find Henry before Pan does, then." Mary Margaret proposed while approaching her daughter's side.

"Oh, he already has, I can assure you. Nothing escapes his sight, not while we are in his domains." Gold stated with cold voice.

"He has my son!" Emma retort angrily. "If he is so powerful, then tell me why he wants Henry and how are we supposed to get to him?"

"That is why we have her", Gold stated with a smirk, head tilted to the side. He turned around to look at Regina, but even he couldn't hide his surprise when his gaze landed on the former Evil Queen, who was on all fours and staring blankly at the wooden floor.

"Regina?" Emma called ignoring Gold's surprised state, and slowly approaching the other woman.

"What's wrong?" David asked approaching the witch.

"Regina?" Emma called again reaching her hand to touch her.

"Wait, no!" Gold warned her, but it was too late. Emma touched Regina's shoulder and felt an electric shock run through her body. Regina's eyes went completely white and the witch found herself drowning in a void of memories, but not her own. Flashes of the life of a very young Emma Swan now passed like a movie in her mind's eye. She was watching a ten year old girl running down a street followed by other kids when she bit her tongue harshly. The pain was enough to stop the images, but the fluttering of her heart and the pounding headache increased exponentially. _What is going on?_

"What the fuck, Regina?" Emma screamed annoyed at the shock she had received. Regina's eyes returned to normal and met the blonde's gaze and Emma could see the apology in them.

"Sorry."

"What?" To say that Emma was surprised by the sudden apology was an understatement.

"Would you care to explain what just happen, dearie?" Gold prompted with curiosity.

"I honestly don't know." Regina sighed with relief when she felt the ache in her heart slowly disappearing. However, she still felt something weird moving around her, inside her, like some sort of energy that made her ears tinkle and her skin crackle.

"If you are going to turn evil again, tell me now so, I can end you before you dare to lay a hand on my family." David threatened the witch, who snorted arrogantly in reply.

"Oh please… even Snow has more balls than you Charming. I bet yours will explode if you dare to defy me. Although, I will have to admit I will love to see you try." Regina taunted, steadying her shaky body against the mast.

"How dare you!" Snow cried in anger.

"It was a compliment, dear. Why are you so upset?" Regina mocked, glaring at the two Charmings.

"I swear Regina, that if you dare to betray us, I will toss your corps overboard with my own hands." David snarled again.

"Betray you? He is _my _son! I have every right to be here! I am more family to him than you will ever be! You are the ones that are picking a fight when we should be focusing on Henry!"

"Henry is-" David pushed Regina to the ground again.

"ENOUGH!" Emma shouted, stopping the argument once and for all. "Mom, dad, Regina is right. We are all here for Henry. If we want to get him back we have to stop behaving like enemies. We should not forget what we really are… a family" Emma said with conviction. Her words seemed to settle the flaring tempers between the crew. For now.

Abruptly, Regina got up from the floor and ran, tackling Snow White down. David was about to attack Regina in retaliation, when a huge trident fell from the sky and landed right were Mary Margaret had stood seconds before. Mary Margaret stared at Regina unbelievingly for saving her life, but she wasn't able to say anything about it because seconds after the whole ship was brutally rocked, making it almost roll to the side completely.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked loudly, holding on for dear life.

"Sirens." Hook said in astonishment. As confirmation to his fears a loud woman's cry sounded, circling all around the Jolly Rogers. "Quick. Get inside, now!" Hook exclaimed, but the ship was shaking too violently from side to side. A high wave, another cry and it leaned port side so dramatically close to the water that their assailants took the opportunity to jump on board.

Emma looked at the creatures with fear and surprise. When she thought of sirens, she imagined humans with a tail like fish instead of legs, but the creatures before her were mostly fish. Thinking of them as humans would be absurd. The sirens had a fish torso and tails, human arms, chests and a fish like face with big fangs and bigger eyes. The creatures lunged at her and Emma had to jump to the side to avoid their claws. Emma had just noticed that she was not armed and that the other crew members weren't either, now too, in similar positions as her. She avoided another siren attack with agility, trying to find something to use as a weapon against her enemy, but the siren was too fast and too strong.

It only took a moment for a green tailed siren to sweep her tail at Emma, who fell out of the ship and into the water. Mary Margaret screamed in panic when she saw Emma's body fling through the air and meeting the water with a loud splash. Next to her, the last siren was pushed out of the board by a fireball from Regina. Mary Margaret smiled with relief when she saw the blonde woman emerging from the water, but her relief was short lived, when she noticed that Emma was struggling to keep herself above the surface. Emma didn't know how to swim. She was naturally scared at the situation, but things got even worse when she felt a slippery hand grab her ankle. She suddenly found herself being dragged under the water by a pack of sirens.

Mary Margaret screamed Emma's name again when she saw her disappear under the water. However, before she could do anything about it, she saw a blur next to her climb the rail and jump into the water. She turned around and swept her eyes over the occupants of the ship. Only Regina and Emma were missing.

Emma shook her body wildly, trying to get away from the aggressive hold the sirens had on her. The problem was that Emma did not know how to swim and she hadn't held her breath when she had been pulled bellow waters. She could feel the burning in her lungs, desperately asking for air. The desperation and the dread of drowning brought tears to her eyes. _I can't die here. I have to save Henry_. All of a sudden, a flash of light swirled past her. The ball of energy hit the sirens, who backed away in fear. _Regina._ The dark-haired woman swam to her, but by that time Emma was already losing the fight against the loss of oxygen. Regina grabbed Emma by her shoulders and with a swift movement she drew air out of her mouth creating a bubble of air in her hands. Regina then pushed her hand against Emma's mouth and nose, and Emma could feel how the water in her lungs was rapidly expelled and substituted by pure and warm air. She opened her eyes in surprised; Regina kept one hand over her mouth and with the other she took Emma's arms and wrapped them around her own neck. Emma obeyed the silent command and tightened her hold around the witch's neck while Regina swam them to the surface.

"A rope, now!" Regina ordered as soon as she and Emma were at the surface. Hook was the first one to react, but they were too late. Seconds after they managed to swim to the surface, they were dragged back under the water by the sirens. The hold on Emma's ankle was strong, and this time they weren't pulling them to the bottom, but sideways and much faster than before. Emma was scared. If the fight were on land, she would be able to fight with nails and teeth, but now she was helpless and she didn't like the feeling at all.

Regina taking her hand pulled her out of her inner musings. The former mayor placed her hand over Emma's mouth and nose once again instructing the blonde to hold her breath no matter what happened. The next thing she felt, was a violent bite in her right shoulder. Emma fought with the urge to scream and kept the air inside of her. Regina pulled out her teeth from Emma's shoulder and with a quick movement the witch threw a red ray of light from her mouth pushing the sirens away. Once again Regina brought them both to the surface once again, both women were shocked to notice that the Jolly Rogers was nowhere to be found.

"Fuck!" Emma cursed.

"Don't freak out Miss Swan I can bring us back to earth or to the ship. I just need a second. Don't let go, I need both hands for this." Regina instructed releasing her hold from Emma's waist. The blond hadn't noticed until then just how flushed she was to the mayor's body. Before her eyes, Emma saw a red haired woman getting out of the water beside them. Regina was ready to vaporize the woman with one of her fire balls, but she stopped when the woman raised her hands up, in a clear sign of peace. Regina watched at the woman before her with curiosity and a little bit of doubt. She wasn't a siren, she was a mermaid. Mermaids looked more like humans, but they still shared the fish tail below their hips. The red haired mermaid had blue eyes and white pearl skin. Beyond her beauty, Regina could see the signs of a sad past in the mermaid's eyes. The mermaid surprised her when she extended her hand, a silent question of trust. Regina lowered her defenses and made the fire ball disappeared in her hand watching the other woman with curiosity.

"What is it? Do you know her?" Emma asked Regina when she saw a flash of recognition past over Regina's features.

"Move to my back." Regina ordered and slowly Emma started moving to position herself on the back of the witch. Out of the blue, a siren appeared below Emma and pulled her once again under the water. Regina tried to react in time, but when she turned around Emma was completely submerged and rapidly being dragged away. In a final attempt to find her companion, she submerged under the water and opened her eyes to try to see blond hair, but she couldn't see her anywhere. Regina came up to the surface and tried to see something over the sea current. "Miss Swan!" Regina called at the top of her lungs, trying to hear or see something on the horizon. "EMMA!" Regina screamed again, but this time with fear of losing the blonde to the sirens.

A low moan behind her made her turn around. She saw the red-haired mermaid looking at her with determination. Her right hand extended to Regina once more with a silent plea in her eyes. "Can you lead me to her?" Regina asked and the mermaid nodded with conviction. "If this is a trick, consider yourself fish bait, '_Hair Rust_.'" Regina said, before extending her hand to grab the one being offered to her by the mermaid. One second to breathe in as much air as she could and she was being pulled under water by her new companion.

-x-

"Where are they?" Mary Margaret asked in despair. No matter how much they look they couldn't see any sign of Emma or Regina.

"The sirens must have got them." Hook stated earning a glared from Mary Margaret.

"I didn't come here to lose my daughter while I look for my grandson. We have to find them!"

"Well _Snow Flakes_ what do you suggest we do then?" Sarcasm oozed from his every word.

"Turn this ship around, she must have escaped them! Emma can't be too far away from here!"

"Oh please, why don't you eat a poisoned apple and decease from talking nonsense. The woman could barely float!" Hook said, exasperated with this useless conversation.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" David interfered, but before another discussion could start Gold interfered, standing before them calmly.

"Don't worry about her. Regina is with her after all."

"So comforting." David murmured sarcastically.

"It is. You don't know Regina as I do, your Majesty. She will protect Miss Swan no matter what, especially now that we are in Neverland." Again, his calm exterior and vague answers only served to unnerve the rest of the crew.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Mary Margaret asked with confusion.

"Regina's previous reaction allows me to assure you that she won't let anything happen to Miss Swan. She did save your life, dearie, even though she hates you with all her heart. Maybe you should give her a chance. We, in the meantime, should head to the island. Regina and Miss Swan will, I'm sure, catch up to us later."

-x-

_In a calm and solitary ocean shore a young and beautiful mermaid played with an old fork while she sang an undistinguished song. Her beautiful and long red hair shone with the ray lights and her blue eyes sparkled with fascination at the foreign object she held. She was a fourteen year old girl that knew very little about the world or, more specifically, the human world._

_"__Ariel!" A calm and sweet voice called out to her, and the mermaid turned around to meet her new companion. The girl before her was only six years old, had black coal hair and deep brown eyes. Their eyes met instantly and the dark-haired little girl smiled widely in response, before jumping into the water to meet her friend. They played for a while, laughing and splashing about. Ariel didn't have many friends. In fact, she was practically alone in the world, if not for the loving little girl who joined her every week at the same spot ever since their meeting two months prior._

_"__I really don't understand you, how can you be tired of the ocean?" The younger girl asked the redhead with curiosity and incredulity in her voice. _

_"__How come you don't like land very much?" Defend the mermaid with annoyance. "What would I give to live upon the earth like you?"She whispered softly._

_"__Well, I would like to be half fish like you, Ariel." The little girl said with a bright smile plastered on her face. Ariel couldn't help but smile at the cuteness of the girl that seemed excited with the idea of living her life in the ocean. "But I wouldn't be a mermaid."_

_"__Really? Then what will you be?" Ariel asked with real curiosity this time._

_"__I would be an octopus or a squid." The little girl stated with conviction._

_"__Ewwww… why those, they are disgusting?" Ariel asked, scrunching her nose._

_"__Well, I will have eight hands and I'll swim very prettily. I would also have an important name like, like… Ursula!"_

_"__Ursula? That's not a pretty name, nor important."_

_"__No, but it sounds like a witch's name." The little girl added with delight._

_"__So you would be a witch too?"_

_"__Yes, but a good witch. As a witch, I would be able to grant you your wish and give you legs to walk on the land that you love so much." Ariel looked over to the little girl in surprise. "If I could give you the earth I would Ariel, but I can't. I wish I could do something so you wouldn't feel so sad." Ariel felt bad because unintentionally she had drowned the little girl in her problems. She shouldn't have felt the responsibility of making Ariel happy, and yet, Ariel knew that the girl was being completely honest with her words._

_"__The ocean is not bad." Ariel said with melancholy, trying to comfort her younger friend. "At least I have you." _

_"__Don't ever lose hope. If you want to walk on my world, you will. I can promise you that. You just have to be patient." _

_"__Would you help me?" Ariel asked with a sheepish smile._

_"__I already am." The girl answered with a soft and caring smile. She stood up and kissed Ariel in the cheek as a good bye. _

_"__You're leaving _Ursula_?" Ariel asked with a smirk._

_"__It's late. Mother will punish me if I don't get home on time for dinner." The dark haired girl smiled awkwardly and started walking up the shore. Ariel didn't know the girl very well, but she could tell two things with certainly. Number one: she was a very sweet and charming girl with a pure and caring heart. And number two: her mother was very strict and every mention of her made the girl slouch back and act as a scared little girl. "See you next week, Ariel."_

_"__Yes, see you later…_Regina._"_

-x-

The dark witch held the mermaid's hand in a death grip. The mermaid was swimming at an incredible speed pulling them deeper and deeper into the dark ocean water. Regina had to fight the sting of the water in her eyes, but she managed to notice how they were approaching a huge structure at the bottom of the ocean. It wasn't a structure; though, it was several. There was a whole city under the water protected by a bubble of magic.

As soon the two of them crossed the magic barrier Regina took a deep breath, feeling the sting in her lungs. She understood the magic surrounding her and knew she would be able to breathe while inside the magic barrier. Emma didn't know that, though, and Regina felt scared for her.

The red-haired mermaid guided her to one of the buildings and once inside, she let go Regina's hand, allowing the former queen to walk by herself. Regina followed the mermaid silently and finally, she found herself hidden in a hall, behind tall columns, while she watched two sirens pulling Emma down and shoving her inside a glass cell. Regina could see how Emma was struggling with the lack of air and frowned in anger when the sirens left the room. She quickly moved inside and saw how Emma looked at her with pleading and scared eyes from behind her glass prison.

"It's ok. Calm down, I'm gonna get you out of there." Regina said soothingly. She moved to the glass and placed her hands against the surface. "Put your hands over mine." Regina instructed and she was pleased to know that the blonde could hear her when she obeyed and placed her hands just against Regina's. "I want you to close your eyes and try to calm down. I know you are scared, but I'm here, ok? I won't let you die so easily. I need you to help me get back my son." Emma closed her eyes and tried to do what the witch told her to, but the burning in her lungs was too strong and the fear of drowning was just too overwhelming. "Now take a deep breath." Regina instructed, but Emma's eyes shoot open right away. She looked at the witch with hate and anger, suspicious coloring her green eyes, but Regina was quick to calm the blonde down.

"I'm under water now too, Miss Swan. Look…" Regina waved her hand; as a result, the blonde was able to see how bubbles emerged at the movement, just like when something moved under water. "There is a spell that will allow you to breathe here. But it will only work if you don't have fear in your heart when you take your first breath. You have to calm down and just let the water enter your lungs; it will work just like air. I promise."

Emma looked at the witch with pure fear reflected in her eyes. She didn't know how to swim. She had never liked water before, and now the dark woman dared to ask her to just take a deep breath under the water without feeling scared. It was impossible. The pain in her chest at the lack of oxygen was just too strong to be ignored, though. And unconsciousness was just around the corner.

She couldn't do it. She just couldn't.

"Trust me…" Regina pleaded one more time earning a surprised look from the blonde. Emma closed her eyes again and tried to think of nothing else. She focused on the feeling of the glass surface against her hands. She cleared her mind and without even noticing it, she took a breath in. She gasped at the filling of air feeling her lungs once again, and suddenly, the glass before her broke into a thousand pieces and she landed safely into the mayor's arms. Regina stopped her from collapsing over the broken glass and helped the blonde recover her composure. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Regina asked with irony written all over her voice.

"Shut up." Emma panted tiredly. "Where the hell are we?"

"If I have to guess, this is Atlantis, dear. It's the only underwater city in all the seven realms. However, I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised it resides in Neverland."

"Well, we have to get out of here quickly. We have to go get Henry."

"I know that, but I'm afraid we can't do it right now." Regina said eyeing her with caution.

"If you want to stay here, then stay. I'm going to leave and get my son."

"You ungrateful brat! After I risked my life coming here for you, you dare to dismiss me so easily. Well, let me tell you, Miss Swan that it is you who won't be leaving this city for a while." Regina snarled angrily. Emma was about to retort when a delicate hand reached for her shoulder. She turned around and saw the red-haired mermaid from earlier. Emma hadn't noticed the fish tail until now, since it was clearly at full display. She also noticed that while the mermaid was floating on water if she were on actual water, she and Regina were standing as if they were on firm land. The mermaid moved her hand and grasped something around Emma's neck, snapping her from her inner musings. Emma finally noticed a weird jewel hanging around her neck. After several tries, she realizes she wouldn't be able to pull the necklace off. "It's a spell of enslavement. As long as you wear that jewel you won't be able to leave this city." Regina explained with easiness.

"You have one as well." Emma said, looking at the mermaid who nodded simply. "Who are you?" The mermaid grimaced at the question and turned to look hopefully at Regina. "You know her, Regina?" Emma asked her companion with curiosity.

"No, but she helped me get here. Apparently she is our ally. For now" Her words surprised the mermaid, who moved in front of Regina swiftly and shook her violently by the shoulders. Regina and Emma noticed that the mermaid moved her lips but no sound escape her mouth. She was mute. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you. Thank you for your help, but you might have confused me with someone else." Regina watched with astonishment how her words made the young mermaid cry in front of her. She saw sadness and desperation. She also saw recognition. The mermaid thought she knew her; she was sure of it. However, she couldn't recall meeting the red-haired woman before. Regina immediately felt sorry for her. Something inside of her, made her year to comfort the girl before her. No one had made her feel like that before, besides Henry. "I'm sorry." Regina apologized whipping a tear from the mermaid cheek. "But I don't know who you are."

Suddenly, a loud sound filled the place, startling the three women. Emma recognized the sound, it was the same sound she'd heard from the sirens before.

"We have to get out of here!" Emma made to move to the door, but Regina stopped her. "What are you doing?"

"We need to find out who cast that spell, so in the meantime, you Sheriff are going undercover." Regina pushed her back inside the prison and moved to hold the mermaid's hand. A wave of her other hand and the glass was back, trapping Emma inside the prison once more. "You are a prisoner, so try to behave like one…. And do please try to be charming."

"Regina, what the hell?"

"Try to behave, Miss Swan. I need you alive. You just follow the flow…, you are good at that." Regina said finally, before leaving the room. Seconds later, Emma saw two sirens enter from the other side of the hall. The glass disappeared, as if dissolved in water and each siren took Emma by the arm, dragging her through the hallway by force. Emma tried not to resist, but the sirens were being aggressive, even though she wasn't opposing their actions. Finally, they arrived at a great parlor. The room was huge and displayed an exotic wealth that Emma hadn't noticed in the previous hall. At the back of the room, there was a throne and a huge man with a long fish tail sat upon it. The merman could have easily been 16 feet tall; he had long white hair and a strong body. Emma gulped at the sight. The man was clearly intimidating and the way he was looking at her didn't help calm her nerves at all.

"So… you didn't die. That doesn't happen so often." The huge merman laughed in delight at his own words. Emma tried to suppress the shiver that ran down her spine, but she couldn't do it. "You are also very pretty. What's your name, human?"

"E- Emma."

"I am Poseidon, king and ruler of Atlantis and all the seas." Emma winced at the name_. Are we really facing a freaking God? This can't be good._ "Most humans that dare to touch my realms are dragged here and imprisoned until they die. Because of the spell around my kingdom, they usually die within minutes, but you apparently could fight against your fear. You must know about magic." He stopped, scrutinized her from head to toe and then dismissed her as insignificant. "No, you are just a pathetic human with no power. A woman, which is even worse."

Emma felt tempted to slash the king with insults, but she refrained herself from being dominated by anger. _Charming… be charming._ It was in her blood, right?

"I am a simple human, but I do know a little about magic…" Emma stopped to swallow the bile gathering in the back of her throat, before she could continue. "Your Highness."

"You have manners as well, another feature uncommon among humans." Poseidon regarded with renewed interest. Regina, who remained hidden behind strategic pillars along with the red-haired mermaid, grimaced angrily at Emma. _Not so charming, you idiot! Do you have any idea how Gods behave? You are about to curse us both!_

"Thank you, I feel honored to be to your liking."

"You are certainly special." The king smiled wickedly at Emma, who shrunk under his gaze. "Triton!" The King roared with fury. Seconds later, a much smaller merman arrived, swimming into the room. He had long brownish hair and blue eyes that were very similar to the eyes of the red-haired mermaid.

"Yes, father." The smaller merman answered with obedience.

"Prepare everything for a celebration. We are soon to enjoy a wedding." Emma actually jumped at his words and Regina cursed under her breath. _Damn it!_

"As you please, father." Triton bowed again.

"Wait, no!" Emma exclaimed in a panic, but Poseidon growled at her insubordination.

"Do you dare to defy me, woman?" Poseidon asked in a storming rage. "You are nobody! Do you know who I am? I am the God of Neverland's ocean and all the seas beyond. I'm the ruler of the sirens and the mermen! You won't defy me! You have no right to speak back at me!"

"I beg to differ." A strong voice sounded through the room and Emma turned around in time to watch Regina walk in with regal bearing fit for a Queen.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my domains?" Poseidon asked, infuriated. Regina didn't flinch once; she just stood and looked at the huge man in defiance and practiced boredom.

"I am Queen Reginaof the Enchanted Forest and I am here to claim what is rightfully mine." She waved a hand at Emma, but didn't glance her way. "She is my possession and I won't allow you to have her."

"I don't know anything of your realm, human, and who are you to claim my soon to be wife as yours?"

"She is my fiancée."

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I hope you like it!

Please review!

Once again thank you Bloodymary2!


	2. The Siren's call Part II

Re-uploaded chapter!

This time with my beta reader approval! Thank you **Bloodymary2!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own OUAT!

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**The Siren's call Part II**

_A seven year old Regina walked through a small forest near her house. The fall had come and the floor was covered by a velvet carpet of colours. The wind grew colder every day, and the trees pleaded to be covered by the oncoming snow. The black-haired kid walked calmly while she was followed by a sparkling yellow light._

_"__You are very weird, Regina. Most people don't wait a day to ask for their wishes. I have known you for two weeks, but you have yet to ask for your wish." The light spoke with irritation._

_"__I don't have any wishes." The girl retorted._

_"__I'm a fairy. We are supposed to grant wishes to people that have pure hearts. I was sent to grant you, Regina, a wish. If I don't do it, I won't be able to go back home with the rest of the fairies." The fairy in question wasn't bigger than a bottle of wine. She had blonde hair and blue eyes that shone with the beauty of the sky. _

_"__I know that, but I can't decide what I should ask. I feel that if I ask for a wish then it should be a really good one." Regina said, shrinking her shoulders a little with regret. _

_"__Why don't you ask to get rid of your mother?"_

_"__I love my mother." Regina answered with easiness._

_"__She is a bitch to you and everybody else." The fairy attacked again._

_"__I still love her." Regina said again and the fairy screamed in exasperation._

_"__Aaaaah. You are a weird kid, you know that?"_

_"__Yes, you have mentioned before." Regina smiled shyly. "I'm sorry, Tinker Belle, the only thing I can think about to ask for would be for you to stay with me."_

_"__We have talked about this before." The fairy pretended disinterest while blushing slightly._

_"__I know, but I don't have many friends. In fact the only people I know apart from my mom and dad are you and Ariel."_

_"__The mermaid girl?"_

_"__Yes. I asked you to give her legs to walk on earth, but you couldn't grant me that wish."_

_"__My magic doesn't work like that. Given a mermaid the ability to walk upon the earth is beyond my magic, Regina." Tinker Bell explained with softness. _

_"__I know… I just can't think of something I wish to have." Regina sighed in resignation._

_"__Ask for anything! Happiness. Money. Love. I could help you get any of that!" The fairy exclaimed in desperation._

_"__I don't want to obtain any of those things through magic." Suddenly, the yellow light surrounding Tinker Bell switched to red when the fairy got completely mad. A funny thing about fairies was that they were so small, that sometimes they could only have one feeling at the time._

_"__You are a silly little girl! If you were intelligent, you would wish something now before everything goes wrong! And why in the gods' name did you bring me here?!" The now red fairy asked with a raged voice._

_"__I-I…" Regina doubted when she saw the angry fairy, but she decided to keep up with her proposal. "This is my apple tree. You said that you had to fly all over to the other side of the forest to find an appropriate refuge to live in while you are away from home, so I decided to build you a house in here." _

_Tinker Bell saw the top of a big clock safely placed over a table between branches. She flew to it and took a peek inside and saw a small bed, a small table with chairs and even a set of porcelain dishes on the wooden table. The little house was full of things to make it more cozy and pretty and the fairy was completely astonished by it. _

_"__Do you like it?" Regina asked with caution. She saw the fairy turn to a very bright pink and she feared the worse. "You don't like it. I'm sorry. I promise I will find a wish soon, so you can leave as fast as possible. I'm so sorry."_

_"__I'm not mad." Tink said with a tiny voice. She was so embarrassed that her light flushed to bright pink. In a fast movement, the fairy flew close to the girl and placed a kiss on the taller girl who stared at her with surprise. "I love it. Thank you Regina… And there is no rush. I enjoy spending time with you, too." Regina smiled widely and sat down on the floor next to the apple tree._

_"__Magic can grant wishes, but the ones that are really important are accomplished by your own effort, not by magic. I really don't know what to do with my wish, Tink. I just don't want to be alone, and if I ask you something as a wish you will have to leave… I guess I'm a very selfish person." Regina said with sadness. Tink flew over and sat on the kid's knee, looking at her with understanding._

_"__You are not selfish. On the contrary, you are a very brave and altruistic person. The only wish you have asked for was to grant your friend's happiness. I really admire you, Regina." Tink admitted with a strong blush on her face and aura._

_"__And yet, you are here, away from home because of me. Maybe there is no way to make a selfless act. After all, humans are all evil deep inside."Regina whispered quietly, feeling sad._

-x-

"She is my fiancée."

Emma stood with a deer in headlights look on her face. Did she hear right? _Did Regina just call me her fiancée?_

"She is a woman." Poseidon stated it as if that simple fact would solve the whole argument.

"So? In my kingdom, same gender relationships are quite common." Regina stated with tranquility. "My point is that she can't marry you because she has a previous engagement with me."

"This is not your kingdom and your engagement is not a fact!", bellowed the large man.

"The ring on her finger states otherwise." Emma's eyes flew to her left hand and she was surprised to find an engagement ring on it. The ring was beautiful and delicate. It seemed to be made of white gold and had a brilliant white shaped stone similar to a diamond. She hoped her stunned face didn't jeopardize Regina's little charade.

"I still want her."

"Yeah well… you can't have her." Regina dismissed him with haughtiness. Poseidon eyed Regina with fury. Emma had to admit that she admired the woman after seeing her act so calm before a character such as Poseidon.

"Then I challenge you to fight for her." Emma saw Regina's eyebrow twitched and Emma knew that Regina's cool behavior was just a façade. The mayor was a great liar, so good that even Emma's superpowers failed her at times. "She is trapped in this city as long as she has my spell on her. If you win, you can both leave Atlantis. But if I win, you will both stay here as my new brides."

_Fuck! Can this get even worse?_ Regina took a deep breath and locked her eyes with Poseidon.

"So be it. In the meantime, I will like a chamber at my dispose and I request for my fiancée to share it with me. She won't be yours before the duel. Or after it." Regina's request sounded more like a demand and the comment at the end didn't help matters any, but the King simply smiled at Regina with wicked pleasure and condescension.

"Triton, show them to their chambers. The duel will be tomorrow when the sun is at highest over the sea. See you on the morrow, my Queen." Triton obeyed and minutes later both women were in a big room with one king's size bed.

"Fuck!" Regina exclaimed once Triton was gone and Emma was startled with the sudden outburst. "FUCK!"

"Wow, this is the first time I have ever heard you swear like that. It would seem you are not so refined, after all, Madame Mayor." Emma mocked. "Your fiancée? Really? Are you mad Regina? Why did you come up with something like that?" Emma practically screamed with annoyance.

"If you haven't noticed, Miss Swan, we are in a very treacherous situation. He has the ability to kill you with a flap of his fin because of _that _necklace. We can't escape either, because you will die as soon as you cross the magic barrier. That was why I asked you to be polite, but now he wants to marry you. Do you have any idea what that means? What these so called gods do to their wives?" Regina's words were venomous and she stood toe to toe with Emma, trying to get her message across. "They rape them to death and then they eat them", Regina spat in anger. Emma swallowed with fear; she was now scared of what was to come.

"You can defeat him, right?" Emma asked with doubt.

"He is _Poseidon_, Miss Swan. Miss Swan. He might not be a real god as your world knows them, but he is very close to it. The only time I've faced a _god_ was decades ago and I couldn't even scratch him. I came with the fiancée idea to buy us time, but apparently now I'm going to have face the same fate as you." Silently, the door of the room opened and the red-haired mermaid entered in a rush.

"If you can't defeat him, why the hell did you act so cool about it?" Emma argued.

"It's called bluffing, Miss Swan, and considering your juvenile behavior and money issues, I'm pretty sure you know the term." Regina fought back.

"I can't believe that I'm stuck here with you, when I should be looking for Henry!" Emma blurted, frustration finally getting to her.

"You think I'm not worried about him, too? You have family and friends; he is the _only_ thing I have in my life. I would die before I let anything happen to him!" Emma's retort got stuck in the back of her throat when she realized that Regina was right. She had nothing. No one. Now, not even her crazy mother was there for her, anymore. The idea that she didn't have Henry with her the last several months brought a distasteful taste to her mouth. Regina's life was probably very lonely.

"I'm sorry…. I'm just scared and worried about Henry. I shouldn't have unloaded on like that, it's just… what if we are too late to save him?" Emma voiced her worst fear, and Regina sighed with resignation and a little understanding.

"He is fine. If Pan had wanted Henry dead, he would have killed him in Storybrooke. He needs him alive for something. Besides, he _is_ Henry. And if I know _our_ son, he will definitely be hard to kill." Emma couldn't help but smiled at the last comment. Regina was probably right. "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get us both out of here…"

In that moment, the mermaid approached Regina and took her hand between her own. The mermaid seemed worried and Regina found herself smiling reassuringly.

"Your name is Ariel, right?" Emma asked and the mermaid turned to her in surprise. The mermaid smiled happily and nodded. "Who would have thought that years of seeing crappy movies would finally pay up? You're mute, right?" Ariel nodded with sadness. "Did Regina steal your voice or something?" Emma asked innocently, but both Ariel and Regina frowned at her question.

"I don't appreciate your barely disguised insults, Miss Swan, especially when I'm trying to save your ass." Regina turned away and once again Ariel followed her. "You are trying to tell me something?" Ariel nodded in response. "Can you write?" Regina reached a small desk in the room and found a pen and a piece of paper. Emma's first thought was to question how the paper remained dry under the water. She decided to stop thinking about logic in this world, though. _Magic is confusing. _And it was going to give her a headache.

Ariel took the pen and wrote something on it, but the writing was a series of doodles that neither woman could read. "A different written language…. Great." Ariel started to do something with the pen again, but this time she was clearly drawing. She drew two circles, one scratched black with the ink and another white. Ariel signaled to Regina and then to the white circle in succession. Regina watched her with doubt, but then a flash of realization crossed over her features.

"What is it?" Emma asked with curiosity.

"White magic." Regina said with a lost voice. She sat down on the corner of the bed and Emma was pretty sure she could see the engines working behind the dark haired woman's face. "Poseidon uses dark magic; if I use white magic, maybe I could beat him."

"Wait, you know how to use white magic?" Emma asked, surprised.

"I learned a long time ago; however, I didn't master it. The darkness in my heart surpasses by far the light in it." Regina said with sadness in her voice. "Nevertheless, I think this time you can lend me a hand, Miss Swann. Thank you, Ariel." Regina said, addressing the mermaid with a dim smile on her lips. "We might have a chance against Poseidon with this."

-x-

_"__What's wrong?", an eight year old Regina asked a sixteen year old Ariel while they sat upon the wet sand of their beach. They had been meeting for more than _a_year. They had quickly become the best of friends, but lately Regina had noticed something strange about the mermaid's behavior. _

_"__What are you talking about?" Ariel asked with a week smile._

_"__By now, you would usually be singing or asking me about the last book I have read. You are distracted. You have been very distracted lately, if I am to be honest." Regina explained with easiness. Ariel grunted in annoyance and lay down on her back._

_"__If I tell you something, would you promise not to laugh?" Ariel pleaded closing her eyes shut._

_"__Of course. Unless it is really humorous." Regina grinned happily at her friend. The mermaid rolled her eyes and looked at the little girl with a hint of apprehension. "It is alright. Just you and me here." Ariel nodded and took a deep breath, gathering herself together before she spoke again._

_"__I met someone. He is the son of a count; he lives near the docks of a town near here. His name is Eric." Ariel said, this time with excitement._

_"__Ariel, this is great!"_

_"__No, it is not." Ariel cried with sadness. "He is human. We talked once before, but he never noticed I was a mermaid. We were in the water" Tears were pooling around Ariel's eyes and Regina just sat there watching the sadness pouring out of her best friend's heart. "We will never be together."_

_"__But, if he is your true love, then maybe with his kiss you will be able to have legs, Ariel!" The girl smiled with hope; Ariel shook her head in denial, though._

_"__It might feel like one, but my tail is not a curse. I was born as a mermaid. Love can't grant me my greatest wish."_

_"__But you love him, right?" Regina asked in confusion._

_"__Yes, but the only way to be together is if I have legs, and that it's not happening any time soon." The mermaid let the tears fall down her cheeks. She had only known her sisters and her father in the ocean, but Regina and Eric were on earth and they brought her more joy than she could have ever imagined. When she thought of the future, she saw Regina moving away from the coast and she saw Eric getting married to someone else. These thoughts made her shiver with fear. She didn't want to be alone. Not again._

_"__Oh, yes, you would!" Regina said with conviction, leaping to her feet. Ariel looked at her with doubt, but the little girl just smiled widely at her. "You will have your legs, Ariel. I will make sure of it!"_

_"__Wha-… but how?" Ariel asked, surprised to hear such certainty in the dark-haired girl's voice._

_"__I don't know yet, but I will help you get your wish, Ariel. You will find happiness. I swear!" The girl walked excitedly to a black pitched horse, which had waited for her not too far away from the shore. The girl climbed the horse with ease and sent a last happy grin to the mermaid. "Operation Ursula has just begun" _

-x-

"Wait, how can I help you defeat Poseidon? He probably won't let me get near you during your duel." Emma asked, approaching Regina. They were in their room/prison thinking of a way to defeat the ocean king.

"You won't have to be near me; I just need a little bit of your white magic. It will help me control mine better", Regina explained, standing up to address the blonde face to face.

"Ok. Tell me what to do." Suddenly, the door opened again, but this time it was Triton who stood on the other side.

"So you were the one who brought the Queen here, Ariel." Triton spoke with coldness, and Regina didn't doubt for a second before she placed herself in front of Ariel and summoned a fire ball in her hand ready to strike the merman if she had to. "Calm down, your Excellency. I'm not your enemy."

"But you are Poseidon's son." Emma stated with incredulity to his words.

"Poseidon has ruled the merman under oppression for ages. He made a deal with the sirens, and one day he cursed the whole city of Atlantis to obey him. No one in my realm can defeat him. But if you, Queen Regina, have a way to defeat him, then I will do everything in my power to help you." Triton bowed before Regina and the older woman puffed air out in annoyance.

"Great! Now, I'll feel bad if I lose" The raven woman said, sarcasm lacing every word. "No offense, Prince Triton, but I don't care much about your people. You can all be turned to sushi, for what I care. I just want to leave Atlantis once and for all."

"If that were true, then you wouldn't have stood before Ariel in an attempt to defend her." Triton argued with a smirked in his face. Regina felt tempted to slap the smile out of his face, but decided that it was better not to do it.

"By the way, why can't she talk?" Emma asked, referring to Ariel who stood there watching silently the interaction.

"I don't know much. She was here before I was even born. The rumors say that my father took away her voice as punishment and she has being voiceless since then. She must be over sixty years; although, she hasn't age a year since I met her." Triton said eyeing the red-haired girl with pity.

"Well, prince, if you don't mind, I will like to prepare for my duel with your father, so you can leave now." Regina ordered, pushing the merman towards the door.

"Before I go, I wish to show you something, your Majesty." Triton guided the three women to what seemed to be a huge stadium. They stood in what could be dubbed bleachers and Regina and Emma noticed that they were probably were the fight with Poseidon would take place the following day.

"Ok, this is quite intimidating. I guess you accomplished your goal, kid." Emma said with sarcasm, eyeing the battle field in front of her. She chanced a glance at Regina, but the woman seemed as calm as usual.

"I didn't bring you here to intimidate you. I wanted you both to see that." Triton signaled to the opposite corner of the field. Emma had to squint her eyes to distinguish what the merman was pointing at. She was able to see a white rock and something coming from it at the top. _Wait… what?_

"Is that…?" Emma asked with skepticism. _It couldn't be…_

"Excalibur?" Regina breathed out in awe. It really was that legendary sword. "Thank you, Triton. Now, we will like to return to our room."

-x-

In Storybrooke, Belle walked through the main street with lost eyes and a tired face.

"Why so sad, sweetie?" Ruby surprised Belle with her sudden appearance.

"Ruby! Where'd you come from?" Belle asked, trying to calm her racing heart.

"I've been walking by your side for over a mile, Belle." Ruby said with an innocent smile. "I see you recovered your memory. It had something to do with the jungle fever that attacked us hours ago?" Ruby asked with curiosity.

"Yes, kind of..." Belle had suppose to come back to town and tell everybody what had happened, but she wasn't sure were to start.

"Can I help you with anything? Did something happen?" Ruby asked again, this time a little concerned about her friend.

"Ruby, something bad happened." Belle said in a low voice. Ruby grabbed her hand, and led the smaller woman to a bench so they could sit together.

"Ok, now explain it to me from the beggining." Belle told Ruby about how Tamara ad Greg had captured Henry and how Gold, Regina, Emma, David and Mary Margaret had used a magic bean to go after them using Hook's ship. Ruby was surprised to hear the news, but she knew that the group would find their way back. They always did. The problem was… how?

"Rumple told me to stay here and cast a cloaking spell over Storybrooke, but I'm concerned that they won't be able to come back home if I do that." Belle looked worried and broken at the same time.

"They don't have magic beans to come back either way; the spell should not be of our concern. However, how are they coming back home does worry me." Ruby rubbed Belle's arm and stared into the distance, willing answers to magically appear.

"There were other magic beans, right?" Belle asked with fear tainted all over her voice.

"No, the whole field was burned down… No wait! Regina had a plant in her office. Maybe we can use it to grow more beans!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

"Then we could send a search party to go after them, with enough beans to allow them to come back!" Belle smiled happily.

"Ok, first we have to gather everybody in town and tell them what happened. We have to do this in the open and we'll need their help. Then we can go to Regina's and retrieve the plant she has there."

"We also have to cast the spell that will protect the town from more intruders." Belle and Ruby nodded at their combined decision and stood together to take different paths, but before Ruby moved away, Belle grab hold of her arm. "Thank you, Ruby. I was too scared to do anything about it."

"We are friends, Belle. You can count on me every time. Don't ever doubt it." Ruby winked at her before running down the street in order to spread the word about the meeting. The leaders of Storybrooke had left, now it was their responsibility to keep the town safe and to find a way to bring their friends back home.

-x-

"That was Excalibur, right?" Emma asked, following Regina back inside of their room. Regina sat down on the bed and Ariel took a place in a chair next to the table.

"Yes, Miss Swan, it certainly looked like it. However, for the moment, the sword should be only used in case we need a plan B." Regina said tiredly.

"You are planning to pull it out of the rock?" Emma asked in surprise.

"Not me. You. The sword will most likely respond to your white magic nature. Nonetheless, if we depend of the purity of your heart, we are pretty much screwed. We both know that boat sailed a long time ago." Regina smirked evilly and Emma rolled her eyes, ignoring the taunt towards her supposed 'promiscuity'.

"So wait a minute. Shouldn't my name be Arthur and yours Merlin if we want to use that sword? Though, you look more like Morgana to me."

"We don't know if you will be able to pull it out, Miss Swann. We don't even know if it is the real Excalibur. It actually sounds ridiculous to me, but I know Lancelot existed in my world, so it can mean that the sword does as well. Nevertheless, that weapon is very powerful, I could felt it. Even if it is not the fabled Excalibur, if we manage to use it to our favor, it could be a powerful tool against Pan later." Regina explained easily. "We will use the sword only if we don't have another choice."

"Then, what is plan A?" Emma asked curiously, allowing Regina to keep the lead in this plan of theirs. Regina stood up and walked towards her. When she was in front of Emma, Regina sat down on the floor and pulled Emma to do the same.

"White magic works a little bit differently than dark magic. Most of the time, white magic requires a vessel to facilitate its use. Since my white magic is very unstable, I need your help to create the vessel that will help me channel my magic." Regina said while taking Emma's hands between her own. Regina positioned Emma's hands one in front of the other with a clear space between them.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Emma asked, locking her eyes with the witch.

"You are not very versatile in the use of magic and even less in materializations, so I'm gonna walk you through it. Now close your eyes." Emma sighed in annoyance. She didn't like the exercise already. "Concentrate on your hands, on what you feel on them."

"Your hands?" Emma asked with confusion, but the raven woman removed her own hands in response. Emma couldn't help but miss the feeling of the warm hands of the other woman.

"No. Concentrate on what is between your two hands."

"There is nothing there." Emma complained in exasperation.

"Exactly." Regina told her soothingly. "Think in what is there: the air, the emptiness, the void. Think of it as a black space between your hands, nothing more." Emma hummed in response picturing the empty space in her mind. "Now try to fill that void with light and warmness… it seems you aren't the sloppy student I thought you were, Miss Swan. You are a quick learner." Emma opened one eye and she saw a bright light coming from her hands.

She smiled, surprised at the sight. It was the second time she used magic willingly. "Don't lose your focus. Close your eyes again and now give it form. Something small and comfortable I could wear during my duel." Emma did and Regina saw with slight curiosity how the light contorted strangely until disappearing completely. Seconds later, the ding of an object hitting the floor was the only thing left of the previous magic. Regina took the object and analyzed it. "An earring?"

"You said small, it was the only thing I could think of." Emma said, releasing a deep breath and feeling a bit tired. Regina ignored her and with a quick slight of hands, replaced the earring she wore with the enchanted object.

"I guess I should be happy it is not a piece of underwear." Regina said and Emma blushed harshly at her words, though Regina didn't seem to notice that. "Now I need to see if I can actually do this. I need all the concentration I can get to do this, so please don't distract me… and don't be afraid if I seem out of it after a while".

"What are you going to do?" Emma asked after standing up and took a seat over the table.

"I'm going to try to find a way to save our lives."

XXXXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, that's chapter two, I hope you liked it.

I want to make a huge transition between LittleGood!Regina and Evil!Regina, so don't think she is to OC. Maybe in the way, I can give Regina a little bit more of depth and don't make her **look evil just because she is evil**. I want to give a justification for all of her evil choices; even the ones we thought were just stupid decisions from the writers to make her look like the bad guy.

Also, I want to give Emma a little more important part as the Savior, but to do that she will have to wait to learn white magic. I wonder who will teach her that? Mnmmm…

**QUESTION!**

**About Excalibur**, you might be surprised to hear I actually thought about it even before we heard the spoilers of chapter 3x2, but since I have been seen such negative responses to it (and change that won't change much of my storyline), I will like to ask you if I **should make this mysterious weapon Excalibur or just another magical weapon for Emma**? If it is another magical weapon **Arthur can use Excalibur** (yes I have thought in bring him up, after all we did had a Lancelot, I think we deserve an **Arthur or Arthuria** je je sex bender storyline maybe…**what do you think?**)

Oh and **who do you think could play little Regina?** I don't know many young actresses, but I will love to hear your opinion.

Please review!


	3. The White Heart Part I

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT**

**N/A: Ok, here is chapter three. Thanks again to my beta reader Bloodymary2! I hope you like it. **

**Reviews are always appreciated it.**

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**The White Heart Part I**

"What the hell is going on?" Mary Margaret asked while she climbed the stairs to the deck to meet Hook and Gold.

"Take it easy, _Princess_. Go back inside and let the men do their job." Hook snarled in annoyance, but David appeared behind Mary Margaret seconds later.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" David threatened with a killing glare.

"I can see that it's hard for you to try to behave like allies, but do please remain silent unless you want all of us to die." Gold said in a strong and intimidating voice.

"What is going on? Why did we stop?" Mary Margaret asked again. She had been bellow in her room when she noticed the ship had stopped in the middle of the ocean.

"The night just fell. Pan is three times stronger during the night. If we want to remain hidden, we are going to have to lay low for a while. We can't risk being captured by the Lost Boys or Pan himself just, because of a careless action." Hooked warned everybody with a meaningful glare.

"So now we'll have to wait here till morning?" David asked and Gold nodded in the affirmative. "What about Emma and Henry?"

"As I said before, they will be safe. Tomorrow morning we will land on the island and we will look out for Henry and Miss Swan." Gold said quietly. "In the meantime, we have to come up with a plan to defeat the darkest creature of all the realms."

-x-

Emma lay on the bed watching at the white ceiling, but every once in a while she stole a glance at the witch that had been sitting on the floor in the same position for the last five hours. It was night already, but the room didn't show any difference. At first, her movements around the room had made Regina growl in annoyance, but after a while the witch disconnected herself from the world around her. She remained still, like a statue, and the sight scared the blonde a little. She was afraid Regina wouldn't wake up from her _trance_, but after a while something else had caught her attention. Ariel remained in the room with them, but her entire focus was with the ex-Mayor. Every now and then, Ariel would take a piece of cloth and clean Regina's forehead with it. The action was purely endearing – they were under water after all –, but in a weird way it made Emma proud of the woman. She realized that Ariel was the first person she knew that had treated Regina with... Respect? No, it was more than that. The mermaid treated the witch with reverence and affection. Not even Henry treated her mother like that. The blue eyes of the younger girl sparkled with admiration and fondness for the other woman, and Emma wondered what Regina had done in order to earn such devotion. Sure, the Queen had actually been nice towards the red-haired woman, but she knew that it went beyond that.

Emma refocused when the mermaid swam to the bed and took one of the sheets to then place it over Regina's shoulders with concern. The sheriff smiled at the sweet gesture and decided to try to communicate with the mute mermaid.

"You really like her, don't you?" Emma asked, calling the attention of the red haired-woman. Ariel smiled slightly and nodded in response. "Do you know her from before?" Another nod.

"Over sixty years, right?" A nod. "It's been a long time. You know she doesn't remember you?" A sad nod. "Do you know why she can't remember you?" Ariel was about to shake her head, but stooped mid process. Emma could read the confusion and the doubt all over the mermaid's face.

"Maybe?" Emma asked with curiosity, and after a moment of hesitation Ariel nodded again. "Do you know she is evil?" Ariel eyes shoot open in surprise at the question. With a guttural sound, the mermaid frowned at Emma and shook her head fervently in the negative. Emma knew that it wasn't the answer to her question. The mute mermaid was practically screaming '_she is not evil!_' at her. Emma snorted and turned her head away.

Regina was evil, right? She'd tried to kill her before. She was supposed to be one of the bad guys. Yet, Regina had saved her and Mary Margaret when she had removed the death spell from the well. She was also whiling to give her life in exchange for the safety of the people of Storybrooke when the black diamond had been activated. Sure, she had been the one to create the curse and the diamond in the first place, but life in Storybrooke wasn't that bad. Before the curse broke, nobody had known what they had been missing. Involuntarily, the people that had been more affected by the curse had been Henry, Emma and Regina herself. After it broke, even the people that didn't have their happy endings before in the Enchanted Forest found them in Storybrooke.

The whole situation was quite confusing for Emma.

She usually didn't like seeing things in black and white, but Regina was a very ample tray of grey colors. Judging the woman was getting more and more difficult every day. Now that Emma had the opportunity to see how Ariel regarded the witch, she was sure that Regina wasn't as evil as everybody seemed to think. However, the urge to know what Regina had done for the mermaid was driving her crazy. What could have Regina done to earn such a pure and strong loyalty from someone like Ariel?

"Why do you like her so much?" Emma asked with intrigue. Ariel turned to look at Regina once again with blue eyes filled with nostalgia.

-x-

_Ariel waited for Regina in their spot, but the little girl was running late. It had been four months since the first time she met Eric. The mermaid visited the coast of the city where he lived to steal a glance of him every time she could. It was sweet torture. She knew she couldn't be with him, yet she wanted to be with him more than she wanted human legs. It was ironic that she needed the last one to accomplish the first. She wanted to be happy, was it too much to ask?_

_"__Ariel!" Regina called for her from the distance. Ariel saw how the girl excitedly tossed her shoes away while she was running on the sand to greet her. The raven girl launched herself into the mermaid's arms with overwhelming happiness. Ariel was knocked down by the sudden hug and both girls ended up submerged under the salty water._

_"__Regina! Try to be a little more careful!" Ariel reprimanded. _

_"__Come on, hurry!" Regina grabbed her arms and with extreme difficulty started dragging Ariel out of the water._

_"__What are you doing? Let me go!" Ariel was very mad and scared to be away from the water. It wasn't safe for her on earth, and Regina knew it. "Regina!"_

_"__Trust me! I know I can do it!" Regina said with a reassuring smile that managed to calm the red-haired girl. _

_"__What are you talking about?" Regina simply smiled and pulled a little bottle out of her dress. _

_"__Do you trust me?" Regina asked and Ariel was about to question her again when the little girl took her hands with gentleness. "Trust me", Regina pleaded and Ariel gave her a weak nod. _

_Regina smiled and placed the bottle over Ariel's legs. The girl took a deep breath and with care, started dropping the contents of vial over the mermaid "Magnum lumen Hüter giver dette cuore puro de vorm av hennes verus amor" Regina chanted with her eyes closed. The bottle slowly poured what it looked like sparkling sand over her tail and magically the dust moved around her in a slow dance. Ariel was lifted from the earth and she watched in amazement how her tail started to shine with a strong white light. She felt tickles all along her tale and then she was safely put on earth by the fairy dust. Ariel stared utterly flabbergasted by the sight. She slowly tried to move her toes and smiled when she saw the response. Two slender legs were now, where a fish tail had once been. She wiggled her toes again and this time she let a loud laugh escape from her throat. _

_Like a baby deer, she pushed herself with her hands and soon enough was standing on the wet sand. She attempted one quivering step after another. Ariel didn't notice the tears falling freely over her cheeks, but when she started running, she had problems seeing where she was going. She stopped running after a while, completely breathless by this new activity. She looked over her shoulder and saw Regina standing in her wet, white gown far behind. With a happy cry, Ariel sprinted towards the little girl and lifted her in her arms in a tight hug. _

_"__You did it! I can walk!" Ariel screamed over and over again while she spun the girl in her arms. Regina's laugh resonated in her ears, and Ariel couldn't believe what had just happened_. Ihave legs! I can walk! Now I will be able to talk with Eric face to face!_ After a while she placed Regina back on her feet, but she leaned again to trap the girl in a furious hug all over again. However, this time Regina cried in pain and took a step away from her. "Regina, what's wrong?" _

_"__It's ok. I'm ok, don't worry about it." Regina smiled reassuringly. "I told you I was going to find a way to give you legs." Regina said in order to force a smiled on her friend's features again, but Ariel ignored her. Warily, Ariel grabbed a hold of the cloth over Regina's shoulder and moved it slowly to the side. Ariel gasped audibly when she saw several profound cuts all over Regina's back. _

_"__What happened?" Ariel asked with concern, but the little girl sighed in resignation._

_"__I was hoping you wouldn't notice." Regina told her with a weary smile. "I used a spell from my mother, a mix of a potion and Tink's fairy dust to cast this spell, Ariel." Regina explained cautiously. "The thing is that mom doesn't allow me to get near her magical things, she caught me and she punished me."_

_"__Punished you? Regina, your back is completely torn apart!"_

_"__It's ok. Most of the time, mom cures me after a day or two; she says that I can't let my body be stained with awful scars." Ariel's mouth fell agape at the sudden explanation. Regina had always mentioned her mother's punishments, but she had never imagined they were physical. "It doesn't happen very often. Please, Ariel, let it go. It was a small price to pay. Look at you! You are walking!" Regina exclaimed in excitement. Ariel looked at her feet and watched them with intrigue. _

_"__You wasted your fairy wish on me." Ariel concluded, but Regina frowned at the choice of words._

_"__I didn't waste anything. Your happiness is more than enough excuse to do it, Ariel. Tink didn't thought I will be able to do it, but it worked. It worked! You are standing in front of me with two human legs. Now you will be able to go and be with your new friend. I know you want to." Ariel felt awful. She had known Regina for over a year and she had known from the very beginning that the little girl wasn't happy. Regina had a sweet and calm personality, but it was mainly a consequence of the girl's insecurities and fears. She was a very lonely child, but she never complained about it because she had a strong faith in a bright future to come. When Ariel heard about Tinker Bell, Regina's fairy, she thought that a wish from Tink would finally grant Regina the happiness she deserved, but now Regina had spent her wish on her._ What if Regina spent her last opportunity to be happy on me?

_"__But…" Ariel attempted to oppose, but Regina stopped her with defiance._

_"__I don't regret my actions, Ariel. I made a decision knowing very well the consequences. In the end, Tink's magic did grand me my wish: to see you happy, Ariel."_

-x-

Emma woke up the next day, lying on the bed. She couldn't remember when she got there; the last thing she remembered was talking _to _Ariel, while they had been sitting at the table. She stretched lightly, but noticed a warm body sleeping right next to her. She sat down on the bed to find Ariel sleeping quietly by her side. Emma smiled at the sight and immediately noticed that she and Ariel were covered under a warm blanket, the same one Ariel had placed over Regina the night before. Emma glanced to the middle of the room and found Regina sitting on the floor in the exact same position she had last seen he.

Emma stood up and walked towards the raven-haired woman. She looked like she was sleeping, and Emma soon found herself staring at her relaxed face. _I have been very rude to her. Maybe I should try to be nicer to her._ Suddenly, Emma felt a sharp pressure on her hips and jumped away in alert. She turned around to find the mermaid silently laughing at her.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble." Emma threatened; however, the sound of a soft and repressed laugh caught her attention. Regina was laughing at her. It was the first time Emma had seen or heard the Mayor truly laugh. "Hey! I thought you were in Yoda's dimension or something."

"I would be, but you two keep distracting me. I guess it doesn't matter. I master the Force quite expertly already." _Wow… did Regina just use a Star Wars' reference with me._ "And by the way, Miss Swan, it is very rude to stare." Regina said with a smirk plastered to her face. Emma blushed at her words. It seemed Regina wasn't as off as she had thought she was.

"Whatever." Emma feigned disinterest. "So… did you manage to learn a way to defeat Poseidon?"

"Yeah… kind of… How did you sleep Ariel?" Regina addressed the mermaid who smiled amiably. Until that moment, Emma had failed to notice that the mermaid no longer had a fish tail, but two human legs just like hers.

"Wow! When did that happen?!" Emma pointed out in utter astonishment.

"Last night, when you two fell asleep on the table. Apparently she isn't a simple mermaid. She can use some magic as well." Ariel shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Emma had her confirmation now. Regina had moved both of them to the bed when they had been asleep. The simple thought embarrassed the blonde in great measure.

"Uhhnn…" Emma was out of words, she had never expected Regina to worry about her. Nevertheless, the Sheriff just noticed that Regina had been doing exactly that since they had arrived in Neverland.

"Who would have thought? If I would have known that a way to keep your mouth shut was by doing nice things for you, I would have done it much earlier." Regina smiled wisely. Emma blushed even harder at that and decided to change the topic.

"I'm hungry." _God… that was pathetic_. Emma slapped herself internally at the stupid get away phrase. Regina simply smiled at the woman and closed her eyes to keep on with her little training session.

"Unfortunately, I would not advise you to eat anything from this realm, Miss Swan. It's better to wait until we are back on earth to look for food."

"Do you expect me to wait a whole day without eating?" Emma asked with annoyance, knowing the answer before handed.

"Precisely." _Fuck! This is getting better and better._ Emma thought sarcastically.

"Great." Emma answered with a deep sigh of resignation.

"I have a couple of apples, but lets save them for later." Regina reassured her and Emma couldn't help but smile at the slightly lenient voice of the witch.

"Make sure not to distract me until Triton comes to get me. I need all the time I can get."

"Ok, in the meantime Ariel and I will take care of you."

-x-

Mulan, Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip carried a dying Neil to a little refuge in the middle of the woods.

"We need to tend his wound." Aurora said, removing Neil's clothes to reach the origin of the blood. The princess stopped in her tracks when she saw a circular hole in the dying men. "What kind of wound is this? It doesn't seem like it was done by an arrow."

"Look at his clothes, Princess. He is not from this realm." Mulan stated with finality.

"Could he come from the same land as Emma?" Aurora asked with insecurity.

"Maybe…"

"That doesn't matter. What are we going to do with him?" Philip asked while trying to stop the hemorrhage from the wound.

"I know a place we can take him to cure his wounds." Mulan reached for her sword and with a fast cut she separated the door from the wall. "We can use this as a stretcher. Philip, help me carry him. Princess you make sure to keep pressure in his wound."

"Where are we going?" Aurora asked in confusion.

"We are going to see the Dragon King."

-x-

_A flying Tinker Bell soared over the deep forest looking for her little friend._

_"__Come on, Regina, this is not funny! I shivered! Fairy shivers are a warning that something is going to happen to their charge. I know you are not my charge anymore, but I came here to check on you, so please come out!" The little fairy was scared as hell. She hadn't visited Regina for a while. Since she had given Regina the fairy dust to use on the mermaid, her mission had been officially over with, so she had the chance to go back home. _

_Still, once in a while, she visited the little girl that seemed lonelier every time. By now, Regina was ten years old, yet she hadn't changed much over the years. Unfortunately, that also meant that Regina didn't have many friends. The child was almost always by herself, and Tink could see every drop of sadness in the raven-haired girl's eyes. "Regina, please answer me!" Tink called again. When she felt the shiver, she had thought instantly of Regina, but after half an hour of looking, she couldn't find the little girl. _

_In a moment of desperation, Tinker Bell decided to go to Regina's house. She had never gotten close to the house before, but she was settled to find the girl no matter what. She saw an open window and flew through it rapidly. For a second, Tink doubted about making herself present in the house, but the fear in her gut pushed her to ignore precaution and follow her instincts. "REGINA!" Once again, there was no response. Quickly, Tink searched every room in the big manor. The place was empty. Not a soul walked in those halls. _

_The yellow fairy grew fearful with every second. As a last resource, Tink flew to the basement. It was locked. The fairy swept the vicinity and found a little gap between a brick in the wall. She squished herself inside of the gap and seconds later she was in the basement of the manor. The scream of utter terror that escaped the blonde fairy was horrifying. The basement was a place of death and torture. The air smelled like blood and the dark bricks of the floor were painted with a death-crimson color. In the middle of the room was a large wooden pole with metal chains in it, and trapped within them there was a small Regina covered in blood. Her clothes were torn and her back was covered with deep slashes that reached her soul. The drops of a red chalice fell to the ground creating a big pounding of liquid life. _

_"__REGINA!" Tink flew to her and tried to wake the kid in vain. "Please wake up! Please!" With trembling hands, the fairy flew to Regina's neck and used her entire body to press against the child's pulse. It was weak, but it was there. Tinker flew to the chained hands of the girl and tried to open them. Without results, she looked around for the key, but she couldn't find it. In a final attempt of despair, Tinker left the room and flew away in order to look for help. _Hang on Regina. I promise I'll find help!

-x-

There was a knock at the door of the room. Emma stood up from her seat and walked to the door with nervousness. She would never admit it, but she was worried about the witch. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and found Triton at the other side.

"It's time." The merman said with seriousness. Emma turned around and walked to the sitting witch and knelt before her.

"Regina, it's time." Emma called, but the dark-haired woman didn't respond. Emma noticed the earring she had made the day before. It was simple, but it gave the impression of being made of white gold. Gently, Emma reached her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind the witch's ear letting her fingers trace the small magic object in the movement. "Wake up." Regina opened her eyes and gasped at the sudden proximity. To Emma's surprise, the ex-Mayor didn't say anything sassy or insulting at her. Regina moved Emma's hand softly and stood by her side, looking at the blonde woman with deep-catching brown eyes. "Are you ready?" Emma asked with a soft and quivering voice. She grimaced at how endearing she had sound, but the witch smiled softly and in a swift movement placed an apple in Emma's hands.

"Are you?" Regina asked biting her own apple while she walked to the door to meet Triton.

"If you need any help-"

"Don't worry about me, Miss Swan. I can take care of myself." The witch interrupted her with a confident smile.

"You seem awfully secure about this… are you bluffing?" Emma asked with curiosity while she followed the retreating woman.

"You are good at poker, Miss Swan." Regina demeanor changed completely to reveal her fears in regard the battle. The witch seemed genuinely nervous at the future encounter, and Emma thought that Regina looked twice paler that usual.

"That bad, huh?" Emma asked with concern.

"No. I managed to accomplish the level I wanted to acquire. The problem is that I haven't used white magic in a fight in a long, long time. I'm not very confident of my abilities."

"I could jump to the field and try to take the sword-" Emma offered as reassurance, but Regina was quickly to interrupt her.

"No! It's too risky!" Regina reprimanded in annoyance. However, Emma could see concern and worry in the dark eyes. Regina didn't want her to participate in the duel because she was scared for her safety. Emma didn't like that idea at all.

"I want to help!" Emma said with flare. She didn't want to stay behind and watch Regina risk her life for her. She had never depended on anyone. She felt helpless and useless relying on Regina to leave Atlantis. Regina could read the hidden plead in the grey eyes and smiled at the woman trepidation.

"Don't you worry, dear. I will need your help. I just hope you are as willing to give it to me later as you are now."

-x-

_In a coast town a huge castle rose in the highest cliff. Inside, a big celebration was in process. The whole town had gotten together to celebrate the engagement of the count's son. In the ballroom everything was bright and cheerful. The couples dancing, eating and talking made the castle to be full of life. In the middle of the room, a handsome man in a white suit danced with a beautiful girl with red hair dressed in a fancy pink dress. The couple looked very in love, and they were happily dancing with each other while people around them kept congratulating them for their engagement. While they danced, the groom saw a small glint of sadness reflected in the deep blue eyes of his companion._

_"__Ariel, what's wrong?" The dark-haired man asked in concern. _

_"__Huh? Ah… sorry Eric, it's nothing." Ariel tried to persuade her fiancé, but Eric wasn't convinced._

_"__Please tell me what happened? Did you change your mind?" Eric asked with fear, and Ariel vehemently shook her head in denial._

_"__No, of course not! It's not that… it's just…" Ariel was about to answer when a hard tug in her hair made her stumble back. Ariel tried to look at her assailant, but was surprise to find just a small ball of light pulling her hair with all its might._

_"__Hey, let go of her!" Eric warned while he drew his sword._

_"__Please come with me!" The little light pleaded in desperation. Eric was about to strike when Ariel stopped him. Ariel turned to look at the light pulling her hair and she noticed that the magical creature was a fairy._

_"__Tink?" Ariel asked. She had never met the fairy before, but she had heard of her from Regina._

_"__You have to come with me! Regina is in trouble!" The little fairy cried and Ariel's heart stopped in utter dread. As soon as she heard the little girl name, her body reacted and she stopped fighting the fairy. She was now following her out of the room; however, she was soon stopped by Eric, who looked at her in dismay._

_"__What's going on? Where are you going?" Eric asked in fear. The dance had suddenly stopped and all eyes were on her, but she didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that her friend needed her._

_"__I'll come back soon. A friend of mine might be in danger." Ariel explained herself while she released herself from his fiancé's hold. Minutes later, Ariel was running to the shore. She needed to find Regina as soon as possible, so she decided to use the only route she knew to find her. She moved herself to the water and when the water reached her waist her legs transformed to her mermaid tail in a glow of light. "I'll see you back in Regina's manor." Ariel said before jumping in the water. When Regina gave her legs she first thought that she would never be able to have her mermaid tail back, but with time she discovered that she could make it reappear again by will. However, her new tail was magical. She was now incredibly fast under the water, even for her own standards, and she could swim between realms. She had never tried it before, but she had created portals before with her tail. After a couple minutes of swimming under the water, Ariel went back to the surface. She quickly made her bottom half human again and ran through the shore, going over the path she had always seen Regina use. "Tink! Where are you?" Ariel called, not sure what path to take. Suddenly, the yellow light appeared from the sky and started guiding her through the woods. Soon, the two women found the manor._

_"__Take that!" Tink flew over an axe that was abandoned at one side of the house with a bunch of wood. Ariel obeyed and grabbed the axe and used it to force entrance to the front door. Tink guided Ariel to the basement and once again the red-haired woman used the axe to force her entrance into the room. Ariel froze in utter panic when she saw the bloody body of the little girl hanging from chains. _

_"__Oh my God, Regina!" Ariel ran to her and took the girl face between her hands, trying in vain to wake her up. "Tink, look for the keys, we have to get her down."_

_"__I already did, but I couldn't find them." Tinker said in panic. Ariel turned around and saw the axe she had let fall in the ground and ran to pick it up. _

_"__Hold her hands apart." Ariel ordered holding the axe up over her shoulder. Tink was about to argue, but she realized that it might be the only way to release the raven-haired girl from her captivity. Tink did what she was told and waited for the strike of the axe. She saw with fear how the axe went down and cut the chains in two releasing the trapped girl._

_"__Did you just close your eyes?" Tink asked in bewilderment. "You closed your eyes! You could have chopped her hand off! Are you stupid?"_

_"__Well I didn't!" Ariel lifted Regina in her arms and carried her upstairs. Regina was badly injured and she needed to be cured immediately. Ariel looked over the house but she didn't find much to use on Regina. _

_"__I'll go and get fairy dust to use on her injuries." Tink said before flying away. Ariel turned Regina upside down and finished opening her dress to have full access to her wounds. Regina's back was a bundle of raw flesh. The slashes had ripped her skin apart and the blood poured out of them without mercy. _

_Ariel took a sheet of cloth and dipped it in water with medicine, and slowly put it over one of the deepest slashes. An anguish weep startled the mermaid who looked at the girl with concern. _

_"__Ouch." Regina said with a week voice._

_"__Regina! Are you ok?"_

_"__Ariel? What are you doing here?" Regina asked while trying to move, but as soon as she tried to lift her body with her weak arms, she fell again on her stomach. _

_"__Tink found you in the basement, so we come here to help you."_

_"__I'm ok. You should leave; mom will come back anytime soon."_

_"__Did she do this to you?" Ariel asked in rage. "That woman is a monster! That's it! I'm taking you back with me!" _

_"__Don't call her that, she is my mom." Regina said with defiance._

_"__How can you defend her after what she did to you?" Ariel argued in disbelief._

_"__She thinks she does it for a good reason. For some reason she can't understand she is actually hurting me, but I still love her and I know she loves me too." Regina justified with eagerness._

_"__What did you do?" _

_"…__.I held hands with the son of one of our servants." Regina said in a low voice as she was ashamed of her own actions._

_"__Regina! How can you defend he-"_

_"__I'm sorry." Regina interrupted with a small sob. Ariel saw the little girl crying and her heart broke in two. Ariel broke into tears, surprising the little girl that turned to look at her with weary eyes._

_"__You shouldn't apologize. After you gave me my feet, I focused on Eric. I didn't come as often to visit you. You must have been so lonely." Ariel cried with regret and sorrow. "I spent the last two years of my life focusing on my happiness and I just took you for granted. I can't help but think that when I was being proposed by Eric you were here being whipped by your mother." Ariel choked on her tears. She had been such a bad friend. She didn't deserve her legs. Not after treating Regina so badly._

_"__You got proposed to? Congratulations!" Regina said with a small smiled and Ariel snorted in disbelief._

_"__That's what you get from what I said."_

_"__I don't want you to feel sorry for me, Ariel. I didn't make the spell to give you legs, so I could ask something back from you. I also know you think I should run away from my mother, but even though mom has never showed me any kind of love and father has always ignored me because he is afraid of mom, I still love them. I can't leave them. They are the only thing I have in this world. Yes, I'm lonely and yes, I'm not happy, but that's not your responsibility. I don't want you to be with me out of pity." Regina said with wounded eyes. Ariel noticed that Regina was hurt. The fact that she and Tink left her probably hurt more than the bad treatments of her parents._

_"__I'm so sorry." Ariel cried in despair. Regina took a deep breath and with her hand she cleaned the tears from Ariel's cheeks._

_"__I'm sorry. I was very harsh. It hurt me not to hear from you so often Ariel. I kept going to the shore every week, but you were never there. The days you actually appeared were the best days of my last two years." Regina sighed and looked away from the tearful blue eyes of her friend. "I don't hate you or anything, but it hurt. Thank you for coming here for me, but I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I don't want to be a burden to you."_

_"__You are my friend! You will never be a burden to me." Ariel exclaimed with security. "Why you don't like to get help from anyone?" Ariel asked with curiosity._

_"__I guess… I had never had anyone by my side. I don't know how to depend of others." Regina said with a confused frown on her face._

_"__Regina, as long as I'm alive, I can assure you that you can count on me."_

_"__I will like that." Regina smiled softly. Regina lay down again and Ariel placed another wet piece of cloth earning a painful weep from Regina._

_"__Regina… Will you like to move in to the castle with me?" Ariel asked, earning a surprised gasp from Regina. "Not only you, but your family as well. I'm sure I can convince Eric to let you move to the castle with me. We could be like sisters, and this way we will be together."_

_"__We could be a family?" Regina's incredulity was reflected in her voice. Ariel simply smiled while trying to cure the little girl's injuries._

_"__Yes! After the wedding I could ask Eric to allow bringing you as part of my family. And of course, you have to be my maid of honor. You are after all the reason why Eric and I are together from the very beginning."_

_"__Why are you asking me these things?" Regina asked with doubt. She wasn't sure if to be happy or sad about the proposition. It seemed too… Perfect? _

_Ariel smiled at her and tugged a black curl of hair behind her ear with tenderness. The mermaid could understand the uncertainty in Regina's eyes. The little girl had never been truly happy, but Ariel was willing to change that for good. Regina had brought happiness into her life. Thanks to her, she met Eric and she spent two years by his side. She owed her own happiness to the little girl. It was her time to pay her back, and Ariel was willing to do anything to see her happy. _

_"__I just don't want you to be alone, _Regina_."_

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**_A/N_**:"_Magnum lumen Hüter giver dette cuore puro de vorm av hennes verus amor_" (A spell of my invention that means 'Great guardian of light give this heart the appearance of her true love')

**Next Chapter**: And the first battle begins! Regina vs. Poseidon battle is the focus of the next chapter. I'M SO EXCITED!

**QUESTION!**

**Do you want Regina to talk with Emma about Henry's childhood? Or better yet show her how it was? Should it be a good childhood?** (I honestly don't think Regina was a bad mother until Henry started fearing her because of the book) Maybe if Emma sees Regina as a mother she will respect her more and not call Henry "My son!" (Not yours) every time she talks about the kid.

**Who do you want to see in the final battle! Who should be the one to defeat Peter Pan? Do you want someone to die? Who?**


	4. The White Heart Part II

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Here is chapter four. Especial thanks to my Beta reader, Bloodymary2!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.**

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**The White Heart Part II**

Emma and Regina were walking to the arena they had visited the day before. Emma was a buddle of nerves while Regina seemed as calm as ever; a fact that bothered the blonde immensely. Triton and Ariel swam before them and Emma was able to tell that even they were anxious or nervous about the duel. Emma was about to say something when an invisible force pulled her forwards. Seconds later, Emma found herself between the huge hands of Poseidon. Emma immediately tried to distance herself from the King, but it was in vain. Poseidon seemed to enjoy her struggling because his grip grew stronger and stronger with every second.

"I just wanted to say hello before I duel your Queen." Poseidon said with a happy and sickening grin in his face. "You look lovely, my princess. How have you spent your night in my castle?"

"Just peachy, your Majesty, could you put me down, you are hurting me!" Emma's remark was intended as mockery, but it seemed to work since the huge merman placed her back on the floor.

"I'm sorry, my lady, I always forget to restrain my strength." Poseidon apologized. Emma knew immediately he was lying. "I promise I'll be gentler on our weddings night." Emma literally shivered at the idea.

"Gods, I think I'm going to throw up." Regina's voice said behind her. Emma scowled at her, but Regina ignored her.

"My Queen, I wish you luck in the battle field. Don't worry, Emma. I'll free you from her. It's obvious she doesn't deserve you as her partner." Poseidon said before swimming through the gate to the arena. Regina was about to follow him when Emma slapped her in the back of her head. Regina stood there for a second, analyzing what had just happened and turned around to look at the blonde with incredulity.

"Did you just slap me?" Regina asked and as a response Emma crossed her arms over her chest and looked fiercely at Regina. "Triton, tell your father I changed my mind, he can keep her." Regina said in annoyance.

"You are such an idiot! Why didn't you do something?" Emma retorted angrily.

"He didn't rape you." Regina rolled her eyes with exasperation.

"And how exactly was he going to do that? He is a merman, he doesn't have a penis. How is he supposed to rape me? " Emma had that question in her mind since earlier. Was the merman able to transform his lower half into human as well as Ariel? Regina simply laughed at loud at the question.

"Good question. Maybe he'll use his giant fork on you later."

"It is called a trident." Triton offered, watching in amusement at the interaction between the two women, who completely ignored him.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Emma asked, getting angrier by the second.

"Why are you so mad? Are you angry because I didn't defend you? You wanted me to step in for you?" Regina asked and to her surprise, Emma blushed. However, the witch couldn't tell if the blush was from anger or embarrassment…. Maybe both.

"You are supposed to be my fiancée! You are supposed to be concerned about me! You are supposed to sell it!" Emma said in a rush, feigning irritation. She wasn't sure why she was so mad, but she knew it was Regina's fault. However, she never expected the small smirk that crept to Regina's features seconds later.

"You want me to sell it?" Regina asked smugly while walking slowly towards her. _Oh my god! This was a bad idea! Abort mission! ABORT MISSION!_ "You only needed to ask, dear." Regina was now invading Emma's personal space. The raven-haired woman was so close to Emma that she could feel her breath over her lips. Emma's throat went dry and her heartbeat shot sky high. She hated Regina so much right now.

In the meantime, Ariel and Triton were now looking at the women in disbelief. Suddenly, Regina knelt before Emma while holding her left hand between hers. Emma was speechless and totally overwhelmed when Regina leaned over and placed a soft kiss over her fingers. Emma was so flushed that Ariel and Triton thought that the woman would start to evaporate the water surrounding her at any moment. However, the explosion from Emma was totally different from the one they had been expecting.

"I'm going to kill you! Don't you dare to make fun of me like that!" Emma shouted with all her might. Regina giggled quietly while watching the blonde fuming before her.

"Oh, please. I totally sold that." Regina laughed.

When Emma was about to jump on her and beat the hell out of her, Regina smiled softly in return. "If he had tried to actually hurt you, I would have interfered. I told you I was going to keep you safe, there is no reason to feel scared." That was it. Emma had felt scared while being between the merman's huge hands. In fact, she was scared still. She could feel her heart running in her chest and her labored breathing was hard to control. She felt terror at the moment and she wanted Regina to defend her, so she wouldn't feel threatened anymore. She noticed that her hands were shaking and she swallowed with difficulty a lump in her throat. "You felt the enormous amount of his dark magic surrounding you, that is why you felt so shaky and overwhelmed. I'll repeat this to you, Miss Swan: I won't let him hurt you." Regina reassured with confidence.

"He is very strong." Emma's voice quivered.

"Pan is stronger." Regina countered and Emma couldn't hold the snort that left her throat. "You feel weak because you don't know how to use magic yet. I promise I'll help you with that. In the meantime, I'll just ask you to trust me, dear." Emma looked at the woman and she saw honesty in those dark-pool eyes. For some strange reason, Regina's presence was very comforting. She took a deep breath and nodded in response.

"Be careful."

"Don't worry, dear, I will be." Regina turned around and crossed the gates that lead her to the arena. Triton stood beside Emma and Ariel and after a minute interrupted the melancholic silence that had been created.

"My dad asked me to place you both in a private section of the bleachers. Please, follow me." Triton commented and soon the two women found themselves inside of a glass room right next to the arena. The bleachers were filled, one side with sirens and the other by mermen. Emma could see that Regina was already at one side of the field while Poseidon stood on the other side. Suddenly, the door of the room closed, trapping both Emma and Ariel within. Triton tried to force the door open, but the door wouldn't bulge. "I can't open!"

"Stop it, Triton. During my duel, Ariel and my future wife will remain imprisoned. Don't think I didn't know Ariel was the one who brought the Queen here. I won't allow her treason, after my duel she is to be punished." Poseidon said with an evil grin. Ariel fearfully grabbed Emma's arm to reassure herself.

"I'm sorry, Ariel." Triton said before stepping back. Triton walked to a higher ground and proceeded to calm down the crowd and address them directly. "Today our King will grant us the pleasure of watching him fight. His opponent is a Queen of an unknown land that dared to defy our King, and now he wants to claim her fiancée as his-" Triton didn't finished his opening speech because suddenly Poseidon moved forward and used his huge fish tail to slap Regina's body away. Regina's body struck harshly against the concrete barrier that separated the arena with the bleachers. Emma called the witch's name with concern, but the raven-haired woman simply stood up again and saw Poseidon laughing at her while thousands of sirens cried in euphoria.

"I have a feeling this is going to hurt me more than you." Regina said with a grimace while eyeing the merman that once again launched himself against her in battle.

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In the middle of Neverland's island, Tamara and Greg pushed Henry forward. They were trekking around, trying to find their way in the middle of the thick jungle.

"So, you don't know who your boss is and what his plan is? You just follow his orders as little minions? That's pathetic." Henry spat at his two captures in mockery.

"Shut up, kid, unless you want us to kill you." Tamara threatened, but Henry laughed at her confidently.

"If you had orders to kill me, you would've already done it. It is obvious you won't because your boss wants me alive." Henry explained simply. Even though he was being held captive by his assailants, he knew that he could use his _importance_ against them.

"This is the spot." Greg announced, stopping in the middle of a narrow path. Nothing seemed to differentiate this spot from any other part of the jungle, but Greg seemed certain of his actions. He turned around to face Henry and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his back pockets. Greg took Henry's hands and made sure to lock his wrists around a busty three. "You will wait here for us. Come on!" Greg said before going deeper into the jungle, closely followed by Tamara. Henry didn't waste time and started to struggle against the handcuffs to try and release his hands. Things didn't look good for him. But the last thing he would ever lose would be his hope.

In the meanwhile, Tamara and Greg stood in the middle of nowhere waiting for something to happen.

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Tamara asked with insecurity.

"Yes, he said he would meet us here." Greg assured.

"I never break my promises." A young voice sounded from behind them. Unexpectedly, a body fell from the sky and landed easily before them in the ground. It was a boy. A boy no older than fourteen years, with short, brown hair. "Greg, Tamara, you are late."

"I'm sorry Mr. Pan, but we brought the kid just like you asked us to." Greg explained with a satisfied smiled. The kid just watched them intently for a couple of seconds, amusement shinning in his eyes.

"You seem happy, Greg. You think you did good, right?" The boy smiled at them with easiness, while Greg and Tamara seemed to be surprised by his question.

"Of course! We did what we had to do." Greg said with security.

"You see… Yesterday, I felt something very weird. A couple of minutes after you crossed the portal to reach Neverland…" Abruptly, the body of Tamara froze in place and Greg turned to look at her with concern. "I felt a presence. Somebody followed you…"

Greg watched in terror as something began swelling within Tamara's chest soon followed by a black liquid pouring out of her nose and eyes.

"I asked you to make sure nobody would follow you here…" All of the sudden, something snapped inside Tamara and the body of the woman fell to the ground, undoubtedly dead. Greg watched in alarm as a black shadow moved out of Tamara's body and rose up in the sky right over the mysterious boy.

"WHY! WHY DID YOU KILL HER?!" Greg screamed in desperation, holding Tamara's body in his arms. "You promised us you were going to keep us safe. You promised us you were going to erase the magic from our world!"

"That was before I knew you didn't obey my orders. I don't know who followed you, so I will forgive your life Greg…for now. I'll advise you to run away as far as you can, and I hope you don't find any Lost Boys on your path. You don't know what they can do to adults here." The boy laughed. Greg's fear and despair were written all over his face. He took a last glance at Tamara's body and slowly placed her again on the ground. With shaking legs, he stood up and sprinted, getting away from Pan in a mad rush.

Not far away, Henry tried desperately to free his hands out of the cuffs, but he only had managed to hurt himself so far. His wrists were now swollen and crimson red. If he kept trying, he would soon end up with his wrists covered in blood. But he didn't want to give up. Suddenly, Henry heard a noise around him and froze, expecting Greg and Tamara to come back from the deep jungle, but he was surprised to see a young boy running towards him.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." The boy said, and using some sort of magic, he opened the handcuffs that kept Henry captive. "Here! Come on!" The boy took Henry's hand and made him follow him deep into the jungle. Henry didn't know were they were going, but as long it was away from Greg and Tamara, he was fine with it. After a while, the two boys came to a halt and decided to rest their tired lungs.

"Thank you." Henry said with a smile to the older boy, while he fought to regain his breath.

"You're welcome. I thought you needed the help."

"My name is Henry, and yours?"

"I'm Peter. Peter Pan. It's nice to meet you, _Henry_." Henry reached to take his hand, but suddenly, a red light appeared from nowhere and started to bump vigorously against his body. The small creature was small and sort of weak, but after a couple of bumps Henry had to step away to escape from the attacking light.

"Tinker, don't be disrespectful!" Peter reprimanded with authority. Henry saw how the bright red light grew dim; as a result, he was able to distinguish the small frame of a beautiful blonde fairy within it. "You have to excuse her, she is sometimes very jealous of me. She is over-protective, you know."

"Yes, kid, so you better keep yourself away from Peter, understood?" The fairy snarled in a bad mood. She had red eyes and the red light surrounding her was strong and transmitted a feeling of wickedness with it. However, Henry was so excited that he failed to sense the evilness in the small creature.

"Tinker Belle? _The _Tinker Belle?" Henry questioned with excitement and a huge grin in his face.

"Do you have a problem with me, kid?" The fairy scowled angrily, but Pan simply ignored her.

"You have heard about us?" Pan asked a little surprised. Henry could have sworn that he saw a flash of anxiety cross over Pan's features before it was replaced by self pride.

"Of course I have. You have to be one of the greatest heroes in all the fairy tales!" Henry cheered, exhilarated. Pan's features relaxed with his words. The older boy turned to look at the fairy that was still surrounded by the dim red light and smirked.

"You heard that, Bell? I'm a hero."

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Emma cringed and closed her eyes when she saw Regina's body being brutally slammed against the floor. Poseidon was wining the duel and Emma couldn't watch it anymore. Her hands were flat upon the glass cage that trapped her. She wanted to go out and help Regina. She was afraid of watching the woman die before her. Regina's body flew through the air again, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Let me out of here!" Emma shouted in anger. It wasn't the first time she said that to Triton, but she always got the same answer.

"I'm sorry, I can't." Triton said, voice filled with regret. Ariel next to her was openly crying and Emma was reaching new levels of desperation.

"Regina!" Emma screamed the woman's name, when she saw the witch getting up again while whipping off blood that had slipped out of the corner of her mouth. "Regina, you get out of here! Run away! Just run!" she screamed, while banging her clenched fists against the glass wall.

"Yes, why don't you try and run, earthen Queen?" Poseidon mocked, holding his trident menacingly in his hands while approaching Regina once again. In a quick motion, Poseidon pointed his massive weapon at her; as a result, a blue ray was shot out of it, hitting Regina directly in the chest. Regina's body staggered backwards once more, a painful cry sounding from the black-haired woman and echoing around the arena.

"Regina!" Emma punched the glass again, but this time she felt the magic wall quiver. She was using magic now. She could tell. She hit the wall again and she saw a small crack appeared on the surface. She was ready to bring the wall down when she heard a voice inside her head.

"_Would you stop it already? I appreciate your concern, but I need you to save your magic for now, Miss Swan._" Emma was left completely stunned. She was about to ask what that voice was, when she heard it again. "_Don't talk. Just think. I'll be able to hear your thoughts as well._" Emma's eyes flew open in surprise when she understood was going on.

"_Regina? What…? How are you..? Are you inside of my head right now? How did you do this?_"

"_You really thought I was going to kneel before you without a reason?_" Regina's voice sounded calm and full of mischief in her head, but at that moment the witch was running away from Poseidon, who kept firing magic rays at her. Emma considered for a while the fact that maybe the witch seemed physically weaker than she really was.

"_The ring!_" Emma's eyes flew quickly to said object in her left hand. Emma remembered that moment Regina had kissed her hand and noticed that the woman had in fact kissed the ring instead. "_You put a spell in the ring_."

"_Yes, I did, I wanted to talk to you in private._" Regina thought, while dodging a magic ray that was directed at her head. Emma thought about her words for a while and finally understood Regina's reasons.

"_You don't trust Triton!_"

"_Do you?"_ Regina countered with stubbornness.

"_Good point._" Emma thought in acceptance. However, Emma couldn't understand the other request from the raven-haired woman. "_Why did you ask me to save my magic? You are being massacred out there!_"

"_I'm not called the Evil Queen for nothing, Miss Swan. Do you really think I'm this easy to defeat? I'm just playing along for a while until I get what I want from him._" Regina's voice was steady and secure, but Emma could see the woman panting heavily in the arena. At that precise moment, Poseidon swept his tail hitting Regina directly. The Queen collapsed to the floor while the public of sirens cheered for their King.

"_He is killing you!_" Emma bit her lower lip with such strength that soon her mouth was full with a coopery taste. She felt helpless and worthless. She hated being a simple spectator of the fight. Regina lifted her body with her eyes gazing at the King. Poseidon just stood there watching her, while she recovered her breath and brought herself to her feet again. The King was simply enjoying the show. He stood there watching Regina with pleasure, smug in the knowledge that he could easily kill her at any given moment. Regina grimaced at the level of confidence from the god. His ego made her doubt her own abilities. However, Regina knew she didn't need to wait too long before she could erase the smugness from his face.

"_It looks worse than it really is… Trust me_." Regina requested with a soft plea. Emma wanted to trust her, but the sight of Regina's weakening body was too much to take. She couldn't deny it now. She cared for the former mayor. She didn't want to see her get hurt. And knowing that the reason she was being hurt was Emma, herself, was driving her crazy.

"_What the hell are you waiting for, exactly?" _Emma's voice reflected every bit of the desperation and angriness the blonde was feeling at that moment. It was weird that even in her mind, her voice sounded so broken and weak.

"Listen!" Poseidon's voice roared around the arena, catching Emma and Regina's attention. "The rules of the duel are changing!" Emma was startled by the merman's proclamation and feared for what was to come next. "From now on, the duel will be…" Suddenly, the entire arena fell to silence, waiting for the King's announcement. "…to the death." Poseidon's voice was muffled by the loud cheers of the crowd. Emma immediately entered in panic and shifted her eyes to find the witch. Regina stood up gracefully and even at a distance, Emma could clearly see the smirk on the other woman's face.

"_I was waiting for that."_ Regina said, surprising Emma. "_Ready, Miss Swan?" _Poseidon lifted his trident over his head and threw it with full force towards Regina. Emma was shocked and bewildered when she saw Regina jump high in the air and run over the very handle of the trident to get nearer Poseidon. "_Now, fast! Think of something that makes you happy!_" Regina commanded and Emma reacted immediately. She closed her eyes and thought of the first thing that came to mind.

_A young blonde woman in a medical room panted heavily in exhaustion._

_"__Here it is." A woman in a white gown approached the girl and carefully placed a buddle of clothes over the blonde girl's open arms. _

_"__Hi!" The blonde girl spoke, removing some of the clothes to see the face of a newborn in the middle of it._ _Her voice was a mix between happiness and utter misery. "I'm so sorry." The woman cried with despair, but managed to place a small and watery smile in her lips again. "I hope you find happiness, kid."_

Suddenly, Regina froze in place and lost her sight and because of that, Poseidon took advantage of her openness and attacked her with a magic ball. Regina was thrown away by the energy. The attack had been powerful, but soon the black-haired woman managed to stand up again.

"_Was that Henry?_" Regina asked, with a light smile grazing her lips. Emma understood at that moment that Regina had been able to see her memories. It was like their minds were mixed together as one, so when Emma saw that image in her head, Regina was able to see it as well. She also thought that maybe Regina knew the answer already, but maybe the other woman needed some sort of confirmation.

"_Yes._" She thought lightly and the smiled in Regina's faced grew bigger. Unexpectedly, Poseidon's trident flew magically again to the hands of his owner and once again he threw it with full strength towards the Queen.

"_Are you ready, Miss Swan? This might shake you a little bit!_" Regina launched a punch to the air and suddenly the trident clashed against a powerful wall of light that turned the trident into little pieces. Emma felt a powerful pull inside of her and she knew immediately that Regina was using part of her magic in her attack, but she never expected the effect to be so powerful.

"_Ok, even I have to admit that was kind of amazing_." Regina smiled after analyzing the destructive power of her attack. Emma, on the other hand, was feeling ill and dizzy. The draining of her magic was a horrible sensation. She felt that she was going to be sick, but at the same time she knew that Regina needed her help, so she took a deep breath and waited for Regina's next attack.

"How did you do that?" Poseidon roared in surprised after seeing his trident destroyed by Regina's magic. The raven-haired woman smirked predatorily and sent a defiant look to the King.

"Do what?... This?" Regina threw another punch in the air and magically a wave of blue magic hit Poseidon directly, pushing him to the ground. "_Pay attention, Miss Swan. The only way to release the merman from Poseidon's empire is by killing him. This is how it works in our world._"

"_Are you saying you want to kill him?_" Emma was puzzled by the confession. She didn't know if she approved or stood against the witch in this.

"_Yes, so-_" Before she could end her mental conversation, Poseidon raised to his feet again and in a quick motion, threw a magic ray towards Regina. The former Evil Queen reacted on time and used her hands to protect herself from the attack. However, the ray seemed to be stronger than the ones used before, because when it hit Regina's hands, they were badly burned by the dark energy. The hiss of pain that escaped from Regina's throat was nerve wrecking. Emma instinctual reaction was to scream the witch's name again, but seconds later, Poseidon's huge hands were around Regina's body, immobilizing her completely and halting Emma's cry midway.

"You pathetic little human really thought you could oppose me? I'm a god! And you are going to regret the day you dared to defy me." Poseidon snarled, tightening his grip around Regina's body. Emma could see the distress on the woman's face. The pain. The fear. Emma couldn't handle it anymore.

"_Regina! Can you make me feel the pain you are feeling instead of you?_" Emma asked in desperation.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Regina asked out loud, a painful growl following her words.

"Just do it!" Emma shouted back. A second later, Emma felt the horrible and painful sensation traveling through her whole body. The pain was so strong that soon it brought her to her knees. Ariel, next to her, kneeled beside her and wrapped her arms around Emma's body in a comforting way. "Now Regina, fight back!" She screamed, ignoring the painful reaction of her own body.

Emma watched how Regina's body started to glow with a bright red light and immediately thereafter, she felt another hot searing pain travel her entire body. Poseidon screamed in agony and opened his hands, releasing Regina. The queen took advantage of that and stepped back, while Poseidon assessed the damage to his hands.

"You petty human! You will pay for this. I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to take care of your fiancée" Poseidon screamed with fury at Regina, who merely scowled at his words. "I bet she'll be tasty…"

"_Emma..._" Regina's voiced sounded in the blonde's head with resolution and fury. "_May I kill him?_" Regina asked, while Emma slowly recovered from the last surge of pain that had crossed over her body. Emma chanced a glance at Poseidon and frowned with distaste.

"Fillet the bastard!" Emma's words were filled with disgust and hate. Regina laughed at the choice of words and took a step forward.

"_It would have sounded a lot better if I had been the one who said that_." Emma smiled at the reply.

"Are you ready to die, little Queen?" Poseidon asked and Regina simply shrugged at the question.

"Maybe… Unfortunately for you, I don't usually play by the rules." Suddenly, Regina's body was surrounded by a purple cloud and she disappeared with it. "You see, your _Majesty_. I'm not good at physical quarrels. I prefer a more… secure approach." Regina's voice sounded all around the arena. Out of the blue, the purple cloud appeared once again just over Poseidon's head. Regina stood over the god's shoulders and placed her hands at both sides of his neck. "Quick and deadly." Emma felt the pull of magic again, draining her magic from her core. The enchanted earring in Regina's ear twinkled with a faint light before the witch sent a million of electrical red rays through her hands into Poseidon's head. A bright blue light shone from the merman's chest and Emma saw how some sort of crown materialized itself within the bright light. When the blue light faded away, Regina stopped her attack. The woman then jumped to the ground and landed on her feet, while Poseidon's body went rigid and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The whole arena went silent. Regina walked towards the crown and leaned down to pick it up. That was the cue for the sirens to go crazy. Realizing that their King was dead, the sirens quickly started an angry attack against Regina, but it was too late. The Queen raised the crown over her head and proclaimed with poise.

"Mermen, you are free!" Seconds later, the chaos was complete. The mermen were now free and took their stand against the sirens, fighting them away from their new Queen. Within the chaos, Emma couldn't see the black-haired woman and her anxiety returned with full force. All at once, Emma felt a hand over her shoulder and turned to find Triton next to her.

"Come! You have to get out of here!" Triton grabbed her arm and led her out of the crystal prison. Ariel swam past her and reached the witch first. Ariel seemed concerned, but Regina dismissed her preoccupation. Emma and Regina simply looked at each other and nodded in silent acknowledgement. Triton was the last one to approach her and the merman gave her a bright smile, ignoring the current chaos happening just above their heads.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Triton bowed in respect. Regina grimaced and with a quick glance to the crown, the object burst into flames and she let it drop to the floor.

"Believe me, dear, I didn't do it for you." Regina said while grabbing Emma's wrist in her hand. "Come, we have to get the sword." Regina prompted the other woman to follow her, but Emma's sight was fixated on the burning crown on the floor.

She released her hold from Regina, while she watched a bright green jewel fall from the melting crown. Without hesitation, she reached for it. The gem was hot, so she juggled it in her hands until its temperature had dropped to a safe warmth. She saw how an almost magic glow radiated from the gemstone in awe. She was trapped in a long stare when she heard Regina's voice calling out from her. She suddenly aware once more of the battle between sirens and mermen that was happening around her, so she stuck the rock in her front pocket and ran to the big rock placed at the other side of the arena.

"Ok, let's see if saving your pathetic life wasn't a complete waste of time." Regina said, moving next to Emma, who was getting closer to the big stone and the trapped sword.

Emma analyzed the beauty of the sword in surprise. The blade was sky-blue and the hilt of the sword was made of dark-blue painted leather. The guard and the pommel were of pure gold and decorated with small white jewels. Emma glanced at Regina and the woman was frowning at the sword, ignoring her completely. The savior grabbed hold of the hilt with both hands and grounded her feet steadily on the floor. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the sword upward, expecting some sort of resistance, but the sword seemed lighter than a feather in her hands. The extra amount of strength used in her effort made her stumble backwards and fall painfully on her rear.

"Ouch." Emma said, after recovering from her surprise. The blonde woman glared fiercely at the witch when she heard her snorting in amusement.

"Ok, that was totally worth it."

"Oh, shut up!" Emma chastised her, trying to stand up again.

"Good luck and be careful with Pan. He might look like a mere child, but he's anything but innocent." Triton warned them with a concerned look. The merman approached the mermaid who stood by Emma and Regina and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Be happy, Ariel."

The red-haired mermaid nodded with a tight smile and turned to look at the other two women. Regina took the cue and with a swift movement wrapped an arm around Emma's waist pulling their bodies close together.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emma groaned with annoyance while she fought to put at least some distance between her and the witch.

"She is taking us to the surface and you don't know how to swim." Regina explained, exasperation clear in her voice at Emma's struggle.

Emma froze in place and Regina could see a cloud of fear reach the green eyes of the sheriff. "Just hang on to me. I'm going to tell you when to hold your breath. Now give me the sword." Emma did as she was told and gave the witch the blue sword. With Triton's aid, Regina wrapped the sword in a piece of cloth and soon moved to wrap it around Emma's chest. The sword swung at her chest like it was a baby.

"Don't lose it!" Regina commanded while bringing the blonde's body closer to her. Emma wrapped an arm around Regina and grabbed hold of the sword with the other.

Ariel took Regina's left hand and before they could say another word, the mermaid swam quickly away from the arena, dragging the women with her. Ariel was swimming really fast, and even though they were in open water, Emma felt like wind was rushing against her body. It felt like they were flying. Suddenly, Emma felt Regina's hold tightening around her waist.

"Now take a deep breath at three." Emma buried her head against Regina and waited warily for the count down. "One, two… three!" Emma took a deep breath and a second later she felt her body engulfed in water that felt more real than the one within the city limits. The water felt heavy and the pressure of the speed was nearly painful. The fear she immediately felt pushed her to wrap her legs around Regina's body as well.

Emma tried to open her eyes at one point, but all she could see were white bubbles around her. It was over a minute and a half of swimming and she felt like her lungs were about to explode. Her whole body was racked and wrenched with an insupportable anguish. She cursed her weak lungs while she fisted her hands against Regina's coat. Fear was drowning her when she felt herself break the surface.

Her head emerged; her eyes were momentarily blinded by the sunlight; her chest expanded convulsively for a sweet she drew a deep breath to her lungs, enjoying every second of it. Her lungs engulfed a great draught of air, which instantly she expelled in a shriek! She could hear Regina gasping at her side, while the woman at the same time fought to keep them floating over the water's surface. Now that the pain in her lungs had subsided, Emma noticed the huge island not far from them. They were very close to the shore, so Regina and Ariel didn't wait any time and started to drag themselves to the beach.

They were safe at last.

For now…

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**A/N: In chapter five, we will finally learn what the Legend of the White Heart is!**

**Please review!**


	5. The White Heart Part III

**A/N: This chapter will settle the main plot of the whole fic. Thanks to my Beta reader.**

**Warning: I've changed this fic to M mostly because of mid violence and language… and ok maybe sexy times in the future, but not too graphic though.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.**

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**The White Heart Part III**

The three women were getting closer to the shore. A minute later, Regina prompted Emma to let go of her, so the blonde slowly let her legs go and noticed that she was finally able to reach the ground. Regina kept her close and helped her walk until the water barely reached her hips. Emma noticed that Ariel had done whatever it was she did to acquire human legs again and was walking with them to the shore.

Emma rested her hands on her knees, recovering proper air fill in her lungs. She felt sore and weak and assumed that the weakness came from the pull of magic and that the soreness came from receiving Regina's pain. She couldn't imagine how Regina must have felt after being kicked around by Poseidon. All of a sudden, she felt shy and awkward. Regina had risked life and limb for her. Now she owed the ex-Mayor. And Emma didn't like the idea of it very much. Fumbling with the sword, she turned the piece of cloth that held it in place on her back. Awkwardly, she shoved her hands in her pockets and noticed the jewel she had picked up from Poseidon's crown.

"What's that?" Regina asked, glancing at the green gem on Emma's hands.

"It was on Poseidon's crown." Emma said, while playing with the gem on her hand.

"Miss Swan, I know that the Sheriff salary is not much, but stealing from the dead is just ungraceful." Regina used the usual tone of voice reserved for chastising the other woman.

"I didn't- I-… It looked important!" Emma defended, trying to justify her actions. Regina approached her and looked at the stone with curiosity.

"Let me see that." The witch reached her hand to grab the gem, but as soon as her fingers made contact with the stone, it began to shine with a powerful blue light.

"What did you do?" Emma asked, stepping away from the shining jewel, which she allowed to drop to the ground. Regina did the same and watched how the green stone with blue light exploded in the air, releasing a dim light that flew over Ariel and entered her body with ease.

Ariel stood there with a perplexed look on her face, holding her left hand right above her throat. Suddenly, a low chuckle escaped from Ariel's throat. She couldn't hold her happiness in any longer and started crying and laughing softly at her newfound voice.

"My voice…. It's back!" Ariel spoke with a lightly raspy voice. Emma and Regina exchanged looks of surprise when they realized that somehow they had broken the curse of the mute mermaid. "My voice is back!" Ariel cheered again, this time with much more energy while she launched herself to hug Regina. Regina, for her part, stiffened at the caring gesture.

Ariel was now crying on her shoulder, repeating her name over and over again. The voice of the mermaid was weak and soft, but somehow, to Regina, it sounded as strong and melodious as an angel singing. The brunette allowed herself to be embraced by the younger woman for a minute before pushing her away with ease.

"Sorry, dear. I'm not much of a hugger. I usually go for a slap or a punch in the face." Regina apologized half heartedly to the mermaid, who seemed confused by Regina's reaction.

"You forgot ripping hearts out, Madame Mayor." Emma added with a disapproving tone.

"You are as helpful as ever, Sheriff." Regina rolled her eyes in annoyance, but Emma's words seemed to strike Ariel hardly.

"Ripping hearts out? So it _did_ happen. You turned evil." Ariel words were spoken with deep grief and desperation. "I'm so sorry, Regina, this is entirely my fault." Ariel cried, surprising the other two women with her words.

"What do you mean by that?" Regina asked with a mix of anger and fear in her voice. Ariel looked at her in disbelief.

"He did this to you." Ariel said, watching Regina with incredulity. "You have been here before Regina. In Neverland!" Ariel stated, surprising the ex-Mayor, who frowned angrily at the mermaid.

"No, I haven't. And I'm sure that if I had, I would remember it." Regina defended herself with a stoic façade of indifference.

"You don't remember _me_? Tink? Operation Ursula? Pan?"

"No, because I have never met any of you before in my life." Regina answered, anger flaring up. Emma stood there watching the interaction between the two women silently. She couldn't understand what was going on, but she did know one thing: she had never seen Regina Mills as scared as she was right now.

"How did you get that scar?" Ariel asked with resolution. Regina froze in her place and watched the red-haired woman with dread and uneasiness. Ariel saw the flood of emotions that crossed Regina's features and she couldn't help but remember that same scared eyes in a much younger face. Ariel took a deep breath and stared at Regina with kindness and pity.

"You really don't remember, do you?"

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_In the great castle that stood on the cliff of a coastal town, Ariel brushed her hair calmly while staring longingly at the mirror in her new room. She did not notice when Eric sneaked in behind her, capturing her in a fierce hug. Ariel jumped in surprised first, but then giggled at the soft nuzzling on the back of her neck. _

_"__Why aren't you in bed?" Eric asked, nibbling softly the skin of Ariel's shoulder. The new bride sighed with guilt and Eric noticed Ariel's nervousness. "Hey, what's wrong?"_

_"__I know this is only our third day as a married couple, Eric." Ariel said, turning around to look him in the eyes._

_"__But…" Eric prompted with intrigue. He saw a look of helplessness and guilt in his wife's eyes and he sighed with understanding. "It's about that little girl, right?" Eric asked and Ariel reacted immediately._

_"__Eric, she promised me she was going to be at the wedding. I know I should be focusing on us, but…"_

_"__I understand, sweetheart." Eric assured her. "I know that you care deeply for that little girl."_

_"__I'm sorry, Eric." Ariel apologized. She knew that Regina must have had a good reason to not attend her wedding. Ariel wished desperately, though, that it hadn't been because of the girl's mother. _

_Eric could see the distress in his wife's blue eyes. The count smiled softly and cupped his countess' face between his hands, forcing the former mermaid to look right at him._

_"__You are concerned about her. What are you waiting for?" Eric asked, a teasing tone of voice colloring the seriousness of his statement. Ariel grinned happily and kissed him with eagerness._

_"__Thank you!" Ariel said, jumping away from her husband and walking to the wardrobe to pick up a fresh dress. _

_"__You shouldn't feel the need to ask my permission, Ariel. You can do as you please." Eric said with a soft smile._

_"__I know." She returned to him to give him a last kiss on the lips. "But it is nice to know you approve." She pecked him once again before leaving the room in a rush. Soon enough, she was jumping into the dark sea water and letting her legs turn into a mermaid's tail. She turned around to take a last look at the castle on the cliff, before submerging under the water. _

_A few minutes later she emerged on the familiar shore and was surprised to find a presence there she had not expected. The first thing she noticed was the dark figure of Regina's horse, and then the shinning yellow light of Tinker Bell. When she finally recognized the silhouette of the young girl, Ariel got out of the water, and loudly called out her name. Regina smiled as soon as she saw her and ran towards her, both meeting in a bone-crushing hug. _

_"__Ouch, easy Ursula, or later you will have to fix my bones with your magic." Ariel laughed happily, noticing Regina's enthusiasm._

_"__Hey, I'm the one with magic here." Tinker Bell said, giving the redhead a big and proud smile._

_"__Congratulations on your marriage!" Regina cheered enthusiastically and Tink joined her._

_"__So, you did remember." Ariel stated with a soft laugh, but she noticed how Regina's body stiffened at her words. "Regina?"_

_"__I'm sorry I missed your wedding." The little girl said with regret. Ariel could tell that Regina had her own reasons for missing the wedding, but her protective side wanted to know if the reason had been her mother._

_"__Why did you not go?" Ariel asked warily, taking a step away so as to look at the brown eyes of the little girl directly._

_"__It will sound so pathetic." Regina wined, reluctant to reveal her secret. _

_"__She had a bad dream." Tink stepped in, earning a pout from little Regina. _

_"__A bad dream? About what?" Ariel asked, intrigued._

_"__I'm not sure." Regina confessed embarrassed. "In my dream there was a man. He was completely black, as a shadow." Ariel saw a shiver travel the little girl's body, so she reached her hand out to rub it over the girl's back in a soothing way. "The dark man told me that if I didn't come to the shore the day of your wedding, he would kill you and Eric. That day, I was here all day, but he did not come." Regina confessed, utterly mortified._

_"__And she has been coming to the shore every day since then as well." Tink said with an accusatory tone of voice. Regina turned to glare at her, but Ariel intervened with concern._

_"__Why Regina?"_

_"__I don't know, I keep having the same dream, even though, your wedding already happened." Ariel looked at the girl with a soft smile, filled with pity and understanding._

_"__Well, today was the official marriage." Ariel said, earning a surprised look from the little girl. "The marriage is a celebration of our union as lovers. Today was the ceremony in which I'm finally recognized as Eric's wife by the rest of the realm and his family. Since now I'm officially a countess." Ariel raised her chin with pride while Regina and Tink congratulated her once again._

_"__So, you are not mad at me for not going to the ceremony?" _

_"__No, I'm not, Regina. I'm a little sad, but I would never get mad at you for this, especially when you thought you were doing it for my well being." Regina hugged her with all her strength. _

_"__Oh, you two are so adorable together!" Tink teased, happy, while the other two blushed and laughed with embarrassment. "Everything is alright now?"_

_"__Yes, thank you for keeping me company, Tink." Regina smiled and the fairy bowed comically making a little flip in the air above her friends. _

_"__You are most welcome, my lady. Now… is late Regina, maybe is time for you to go back home." Tink admonished, with a soft smile._

_"__You are right." Regina said, turning to look Ariel. "Thank you, I will see you later, alright?"_

_"__Of course. We are going to live together, remember? I haven't forgotten, little sister." Ariel smiled softly at the blushing girl. She was about to tell her goodnight when a male voice came from nowhere, startling all of them._

_"__Oh no, you are not going anywhere." Suddenly, before any of them could react, a shadow flew past Regina, grabbing her around the shoulders. Regina tried to struggle, but the dark figure lifted her in the air with surprising ease. A panicked cry of fear from Regina was what pulled Ariel out of her paralyzing bewilderment. _

_"__Regina!" Ariel and Tink screamed at the same time, but their reaction was too late. The shadowy figure was flying away with Regina as its prey. Ariel didn't think about it twice. She jumped in the water with her mermaid tail springing to life and started following the shadow. It was so fast, though, that she could barely distinguish the small body of her friend up in the dark night sky._

_"__No!" Ariel cried out, looking around with desperation. She had lost the trail_. Now I will never find her!

_"__It has jumped to another realm."Tink said, hovering over Ariel. For a moment, Ariel forgot that the fairy was able to fly over the water with her four tiny wings. "Can you jump through other realms?"_

_"__Yes, but I need to know where I am going. I don't know where it has taken her!" Ariel argued, angry at her own ineptitude._

_"__I can guide you! You just take us there!" Tink said, lowering herself to Ariel's eye level. Ariel extended her arm and took hold of Tink's waist, bringing her next to her own chest._

_"__Take a deep breath!" Ariel instructed and seconds later, both magic creatures were under the water. Ariel flipped her tail before her, resulting in a shinning green whirlpool of magic before them. _

_Ariel swam through it, praying for it to lead them where that shadow had taken Regina. After she crossed the portal she rapidly went to the surface to allow the little fairy to fill her lungs with air again. _

_"__Are you alright?" Ariel asked and Tink simply shook her body and wings to dry herself, jumping in the air to fly again._

_"__Yes, and I can feel Regina. Follow me!" Tink said before flying towards a huge island that loomed on the horizon. _

_When the two women reached the shore they saw a group of people dancing around a big bonfire. Ariel and Tink sneaked around the group of people hiding behind a thick layer of bushes and vines and they noticed something intriguing. They were only a group of boys. They were around the ages of twelve to probably seventeen and they were dressed with dirty clothes and hoods that covered their faces. All of them seemed to be carrying weapons, though. In the middle of the pit, next to the bonfire, was Regina, with her hands tied behind her back. Two boys threatening her with knifes. _

_"__Let me go!" Regina demanded, trying to fight against the tight grip of the ropes around her wrists. _

_"__No, milady, you cannot go until you meet with him." One of the boys stepped in, grabbing Regina's chin forcefully. "So shut it, or I will cut your tongue off." Regina gulped with fear while the boy removed his hood, showing a young face of a black and red dyed-haired teenage boy._

_"__Rufio, don't hurt her! Pan was very specific about that." A second boy reprimanded him. He was much taller and had brown hair._

_"__Yeah, I know, Felix." Rufio laughed and let go of Regina who stepped away from the Lost Boy. "Shall we?"Rufio asked and Felix and the others nodded in agreement._

_"__Coooock a dooooodle dooooo!" All the Lost Boys sang at once and seconds later a similar answer sounded far within the jungle. As the singing became louder, the Lost Boys started dancing and jumping around the bonfire. _

_Ariel and Tink saw how a boy flew out of the jungle to sing another 'cock a doodle do' high up in the sky. The boy flew back down and landed just in front of Regina, giving her an elegant curtsy before being cheered noisily by the remaining Lost Boys._

_"__Hello, milady. I won't be surprised if you are left speechless by my entrance", the boy joked and the Lost Boys laughed with him. _

_"__Why would I? It was his magic, not yours that allowed you to fly." Regina answered with defiance. The smile on the flying boy grew larger while eyeing Regina with interest. Suddenly, a shadow with deep bright eyes separated itself from the boy's body._

_"__Not many people notice him. You are good!" The boy complimented with interest. "My name is Peter, Peter Pan. At your service." The boy bowed again and the rest of the Lost Boys bowed with him._

_"__Why did you bring me here? Where am I? What do you want from me?" Regina questioned with ease. Ariel and Tink were utterly surprised to see the calm behavior of the little girl. Regina had never shown her fears before, but the fact that she was so calm after being captured and threatened with swords and knifes was quite unnerving._

_"__Oh, I forgot! You don't know anything yet." Pan beamed happily at her. "Alright, let me explain it to you." _

_"__Silence! Peter Pan is going to tell us a story!" Rufio screamed loudly. As a result, the Lost Boys stepped away and took seats on the ground. Regina was surprised to find her hands free from their binding. She looked around and saw a big group of boys sitting in a circle around her. Taking a deep breath, Pan began his story telling..._

Once upon a time, there was a great Kingdom filled with magic called Camelot. However, because of its great power, other Kingdoms wished its doom. They wanted the magic for themselves, so very soon Camelot became a bloody battlefield. The war lasted for whole generations until one King decided to ask for help from magic itself. They had forbidden the use of magic as a way to hurt others, but the King needed a weapon that would assure his victory over the attacking Kingdoms.

One day, the King went to talk with the White Fairy. The White Fairy told him that she couldn't make the weapon he requested, but she knew who could. The fairy guided him to meet the Lady of the Lake.

He spoke eloquently about the situation of his Kingdom and begged to Lady Avalon to grant him a weapon that would guide him through the dreadful war. The goddess refused. She said, "You are not worthy to bear my gift, mortal King. Only a ruler with a pure heart will survive my quest."

The fairy explained that if he used the weapon, he would probably die because of its power. Reluctantly, the King went back to his wrecked Kingdom without the blessing of the goddess. The King tried to clean the darkness in his heart, but while the war continued, his hands became more bloody and his sins, heavier. He couldn't fight the darkness inside of him, but he needed the weapon of Lady Avalon to win the war.

Driven by desperation, the King went to meet the White Fairy. He wanted a way to cleasen his heart from the darkness, but the fairy told him that she was a white fairy, so she couldn't control darkness. Not ready to give up, the King went to talk with the Dark Fairy. The fairy told him that she could do what he wanted, but that the consequences were too great. The King begged her to grant him his wish, but the Black Fairy refused. "You cannot deal with the consequences", she said.

The King, in a mad fury, took his sword and cut the Dark Fairy in two. The fairy's body slowly dissolved into fairy dust. The King took the dust in his hands and poured it over himself, asking for a wish.

"I wish my darkness to leave my heart!" the King said. As a result, a dark shadow lifted from his body. The shadow had his same features, but poured in darkness. Suddenly, the King heard his shadow laugh with malice. In a flash, the shadow had taken the remaining fairy dust and consumed it, becoming more powerful.

The King tried to stop the shadow, but it was too strong and soon the shadow had run away from him. The King had created a monster. He had always wanted power, but for the right reasons. If he stripped the good in his heart, the remaining was a dark heart famished for power and drenched in death. The King watched in terror how his own shadow accomplished what he had always feared. The shadow consumed and killed all the magic in the Kingdom. His eyes became more powerful with every second and every magic killed.

With fear and desperation, the King went to the Lady of the Lake once again and requested her help. Lady Avalon gave him a sword, so powerful that it would help him defeat his shadow and she ordered the White Fairy to go with him in his quest.

The King took his best soldiers and his own son into battle. However, the shadow was too strong. The King could not defeat the shadow and he knew it. The White Fairy saw how her beloved Kingdom succumbed into darkness and decided to help the King. The White Fairy told him that if he wasn't able to defeat the shadow, he could make it weak enough, to give his Kingdom the chance to restore its strengths again.

"Use Excalibur to rip my heart and use my white magic to give life to our savior." The King obeyed and cut the White Fairy with his sword. The blade suddenly shone with a bright white light and the King used it to slay the shadow. When the King cut the shadow in two, the white light of the sword and the dark magic of the shadow were shot in different directions into the air. The shadow disappeared and Excalibur finally landed in a rock near the King. The King's son approached his father with concern and the King said his final words

"The shadow will return again and feed from the darkness in the hearts of the sinners, but when that day comes a new savior will arise from the light and vanquish the darkness away."

_The Lost Boys clapped enthusiastically when Peter Pan ended his story. Regina looked confused and intrigued by Pan._

_"__I don't understand. What does that story has to do with me?" Regina asked in puzzlement. _

_"__You see, milady, the shadow has become very strong in the last centuries. It looks for people like me to control its power." Pan said, approaching Regina until he was standing just a few inches away from her. "A couple of years ago, a friend of mine told me my future. She told me that the next savior was going to kill me."Pan smirked evilly and, all of a sudden, he stabbed his right hand deep into Regina's chest. "And you, _Regina, _are the next savior." He spoke into her ear viciously. _

_Ariel watched in horror how Pan's hand went wrist deep into Regina's chest. A surge of hate flooded her heart and, without hesitation, she launched herself to the group of Lost Boys. The Lost Boys weren't expecting her attack, so she took advantage of it and stole a sword from a distracted boy, attacking Pan with it. Peter dodged her attack and stepped away from Regina who fell to the ground on her knees. Ariel rushed to stand before her friend with her sword raised up in defense. The Lost Boys lurked near her dangerously. _

_"__Regina, are you ok?" Ariel asked over her shoulder and she saw the little girl nod while clutching her hand over her heart with pain. Tink flew over the Lost Boys, poking them and pushing them in order to distract them and give Ariel and Regina a chance to escape. However, she didn't count on Pan being able to fly and catch her in mid air._

_"__I don't believe in fairies." Pan whispered into Tink's ear with a devil smirk in his lips. Seconds later, Tink's body went rigid and her light faded completely. Pan leered and let the little fairy drop to the ground in front of Regina. Regina released a strangled cry when she saw the dead fairy in front of her and she crawled in the sand to reach her friend. Regina took her small body in between her hands. _

_"__Tink?" Regina asked in a small whisper, but the fairy didn't answer. Ariel growled in anger._

_"__You murderer!" Ariel snarled with anger, pointing her sword towards Peter who smiled happily at the mermaid._

_"__You want to play with me as well?" Peter asked with a wicked grin plastered on his face. _

_Regina looked at Tinker Bell's body in between her hands and leaned to leave a last kiss over her forehead. "I do believe in you." She murmured with sorrow. Suddenly, Tinker Bell was surrounded by a bright yellow light and four more wings grew on her back. _

_"__Thank you, Regina." Tink said, kissing the girls nose in return before lifting herself up in the air once again. Pan watched, surprised, and doubt filled his face as he looked at the fairy floating over Regina with a bright yellow light surrounding her._

_"__Eight wings? A queen fairy? It's impossible, queen fairies are extinguished." Pan frowned in disapproval. _

_Ariel and Tink went to attack them again, but this time they didn't last long. With a swift move of his hand, Pan made Ariel's fish tail reappear and the poor mermaid fell to the floor, being easily captured by Rufio and Felix. Tink, on the other hand, was trapped by the black shadow that stood near Pan, waiting for instructions on how to proceed. _

_"__A mermaid and a queen fairy, you have really strange friends, Regina."_

_"__Let them go!" Regina ran towards Pan in fury, but Pan simply flicked his index finger and something slashed Regina's body directly. The attack had made a deep cut on Regina's face, from her chin, over her lip and nose and to her forehead. Regina struggled to get herself on her knees before glancing Pan with hatred. "I said, let them go." Regina said again. Pan watched in amazement how the wound that he had inflicted was healing incredibly fast. _

_"__So that's it! White magic…" Pan ran over to Regina and lifted her by the neck. "I'm not going to let you kill me. I have to be young_… forever_!" Pan stuck his hand on Regina's chest and pulled it out as quickly as before, but this time he had dragged Regina's heart out. As soon her heart was out of her chest, Regina fell numbly to the floor with a deep cut on her upper lip still visible. _

_With her heart out, her magic didn't work and the healing of her wounds had stopped immediately. Pan watched in amazement how the heart between his fingers was different from any other he had seen before._

_It was white._

_The heart, instead of being red and bright, it was white and shone fervently with a strong white light. _

_"__So the legend is true. The saviors do have white hearts." Pan said while studying curiously the organ between his hands. "I don't understand. I did everything in my power to corrupt you. I even manipulated the Dark One to use your mother. It's impossible that your heart has remained white with Cora as your mother and Rumplestiltskin as your guide. Oh well, I guess that does not matter right now. Farwell, _Savior_." Pan tightened his hand around Regina's heart and tried to crush it. It didn't matter, though, how hard he tried, he could not crush Regina's heart. "Why? I don't understand."_

_"__Leave her alone, you monster!" Ariel screamed, struggling in vain to free herself from her captors. _

_"__So I can't kill you this easily?" Pan asked Regina who look at him with anger in her eyes._

_"__Let my friends go! You want me! Leave them alone!" Regina demanded in a flare. Pan looked at her with doubt, but soon enough his eyes were filled with amusement._

_"__Why kill my enemies, when I can make them join me." Pan cheered happily, caressing the heart within his hands._

_"__Don't you dare touch her!" Ariel screamed with anger. Pan turned towards her and smiled evilly."_

_"__First, you are going to lose everything you care for." Pan wave his hand in front of Ariel and suddenly her voice choke in the back of her throat. A green light appeared from her throat and floated into Pan's hands. The mermaid tried to scream, but the gestures were silent in her throat. _

_"__What did you do to her? ARIEL!" Regina yelled in horror when she saw the mute screams of her best friend._

_"__And then, you will know nothing but darkness." Pan reached for Tinker Bell and in a second he blew a red breath over her. Tinker Bell's eyes and magic light turned red, and when he released her she smiled at him wickedly and turned to see Regina with an evil mock plastered on her lips._

_"__Tink? Why is your light red now?"_

_"__Funny thing about fairies: they are so small that they can only feel one emotion at a time. With evil in her heart, she won't be able to recognize you or any of her friends." Pan said with playfulness and Regina watched in horror how the little fairy laughed at her with hatred. "And finally, the darkness will swallow you whole." Pan said while bringing the white heart next to his face. _

_"__Although, you fight your evil side with all your might, you will never win. Not even the kiss of your true love will save you from this." Pan forced himself to let a silent tear fall from his eye. The tear splashed over the white heart and suddenly the heart became a black and white whirlpool. Regina felt a nasty pain on her chest and watched in terror how a small dark spot tainted her white heart. _

_"__What did you do?" Regina asked with a weak voice._

_"__If you become the savior, you become my enemy, but if you become evil, _then_ you become my ally." Pan laughed happily. "Rufio, pass me the horn." The Lost Boy obeyed and handed Peter Pan a large sea shell. Pan place it over his lips and blew into it; as a result, a loud hollow sound roared over the island. Unexpectedly, a huge wave of water crashed into the shore, and from within it, there appeared the figure of a huge merman stood regally on the shore. _

_"__Did you call me, Pan?" The huge merman asked with intrigue at the young boy who threw the green gem that contained Ariel's voice to him._

_"__I got you the jewel you needed for your crown and a new subject, Poseidon." Pan said and with a wave of his hand Ariel was thrown into the air and caught by Poseidon's enormous hands. "Don't kill her. She might be useful to me in the future." Pan stated while Poseidon started retreating back into the water._

_"__NO! DON'T TAKE HER! ARIEL, I AM GOING TO GET YOU BACK! I PROMISE!"Regina screamed in desperation until she no longer saw the red-haired mermaid. _

_"__You are not in a position to make promises." Pan said before pushing her heart back into her chest. Regina stumbled backwards and lowered her gaze while he watched her with amusement._

_"__You bastard!" Regina screamed with fury, but this time was different. Pan could see the overwhelming wish to kill that he had awakened within her. Regina stood up and launched herself against Peter, but before she could reach them, he waved his hand before her face and Regina fell unconscious onto the sady ground._

_"__What did you do to her, Master?" Tink asked with a cheerful tone, laughing at the unconscious child on the ground._

_"__I erased her memories. I surely don't want her to hate _me_. She won't have any memories about you or the mermaid." Pan said happily, looking at the Lost Boys for their approval._

_"__But one drop of evil won't make a big difference." Felix said in puzzlement._

_"__It's enough. With Cora and Rumplestiltskin, it is more than enough. She just needed a little push." _

_"__Are you going to let her leave?" Rufio asked with intrigue._

_"__Yes, since she is evil now, she is not a threat to me. I could feed on her darkness later. In the meantime, get her back to her realm, Shadow. She has a long journey before her. _

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In the middle of the jungle in Neverland, Peter Pan and Tinker Belle guided Henry through the jungle.

"We are almost there, Henry. The Lost Boys base camp is not far from here." Pan smiled happily at the younger boy who returned the smile eagerly.

"Thank you for rescuing me." Henry had repeated this earnestly since the Lost Boy had found him in the woods.

"Yeah, yeah, he heard you the first time." Tink snarled in annoyance. Henry studied the red fairy for a while with curiosity. Pan noticed his intrigue and prompted the boy to talk with him.

"It's nothing. Is just… she doesn't seem very… sociable?" Henry didn't want to insult the fairy, but she responded with a fierce glare. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Don't worry, you are going to like it here, even with her around." Pan said joyfully, but with his words, Henry stopped in his tracks.

"We are here! Welcome to the Lost Boys' camp!" Pan cheered, running to a big camp with houses and tents made of wood and leafs. Henry looked around and smiled sadly at his new friend.

"I'm not going to stay here, Peter." Henry stated with resolution.

"What do you mean? You are a Lost Boy now, of course you belong here." Pan insisted, nudging Henry with his elbow.

"No, I'm not. I have a family. I have my moms. They will come back here and get me. I'm sure of it!" Henry exclaimed, completely sure of his words. Peter looked at him in puzzlement and quirked an eyebrow with intrigue.

"You are the son of Snow's and Charming's daughter and of Rumplestiltskin's son, are you not?" Peter asked with curiosity.

"Yes, how do you know that?" Henry asked with apprehension.

"You said 'my moms.' Who's your other-" Pan stopped himself when he recognized a familiar presence on the island. At the other side of the island, a very wet Regina Mills walked out of the water followed by Emma and Ariel. Pan smiled manically, scaring Henry.

Suddenly, the Lost Boys' leader started laughing out loud like a mad man. "Regina? Regina is your other mother? How in hell didn't I see that coming? Regina is the Evil Queen! No wonder why Greg wanted her dead." Pan said, laughing hysterically still. Henry stepped away from him with fear.

"Greg? You were his employer, weren't you?" Henry asked, but Pan simply ignored him.

"Master, are you alright?" Tink asked with annoyance in her tone of voice. Pan snapped all of a sudden and trapped Tinker Bell with his hands. Henry tried to run away, but a magic rope twisted around his body as if it was a snake and immobilized him completely.

"Regina is here! Regina is here!" Pan jumped towards a tree where a wooden clock hung between the branches and pushed Tinker Bell inside the little house. In a blink of an eye, the red light of Tinker Belle switch to yellow and her whole demeanor changed immediately. "Wakey wakey, Bell! Guess who's back in Neverland!"

"Pan? Why… Why did you wake me now? I can't give you more fairy dust this month!" Tinker Belle reprimanded angrily at the boy. Inside of the tree house she had came back to be the same Tink she had been when she first met Regina.

"Guess who is back in Neverland, Bell?" The fairy stared at the wicked boy with curiosity until realization hit her.

"Impossible…" Tink's face was now scrunched in fear and concern.

"Yes, Regina is back! The chosen one is back on the promised land." Pan laughed hysterically. "And guess what? She is the Evil Queen! It worked! It worked!"

"My mom is going to stop you and rescue me. Both of them!" Henry yelled from the floor where he had been immobilized. Pan was about to answer the boy when he heard Tinker Bell laughing loudly.

"Why are you laughing?" Pan asked with a quirked smiled on his lips.

"You are scared!" Tink said in between laughs. Pan frowned immediately and snarled at her in fury.

"I don't fear anything."

"Yes, you do." Tinker argued. "You are a complete idiot, Pan. Over fifty years ago, you captured a little girl because you were afraid she was going to kill you. She was good back then. If she was to defeat you, she would have still pardoned your life. And now _you_ have captured her son. She is going to kill you."

"Shut up!" Pan yelled angrily. "She can't kill me!"

"Yes, she can. You turned her evil, remember? And now she is going to go all Evil Queen on your worthless body and I'm going to enjoy every second of it." Tinker smirked, enjoying the flash of dread that passed over Pan's features. However, her sense of victory didn't last long, since now it was Pan who was laughing silently with amusement.

"No, she won't. No if I give her what she wants." Pan smirked evilly and turned to glare at Henry who remained immobile in the floor. "She wants her son, but she wants him for herself." Pan reached towards Henry and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "I will offer her a deal she won't be able to refuse. The heart of the Savior in exchange for hers son's freedom." Pan laughed at Henry's look of horror and let him drop to the floor again.

"She won't agree!" Tinker argued.

"Oh, she will. The temptation to keep Henry all for herself is going to be too great for her to ignore." Pan smirked while approaching the fairy that looked at him with utter hatred. "And once I get what I want, I'm going to snap her neck with my own hands."

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**Omake (Funny mini story)**

Location: Mayor Mills' House. Living room.

Madam Mayor is watching season one of Glee while she prepares to cast a spell.

Regina: God… how I miss seasons one. Ok Regina focus, you only have one chance to do this right. *she pulls out the black-gem trigger from her pocket* This is my chance to start over again. I will erase everybody's memories again, but this time I'll make Emma my lover. *Emma Swan storms into the room surprising Regina*

Emma: Regina, what are you doing?

Regina: Nothing…*Emma sees the black gem*

Emma: Give me that Regina! Now!

Regina: Stay away Miss Swan this is not of your concern.

Emma: Regina, give me the trigger! I'll do it. *Emma reaches for the gem*

Regina: What? No way! Is my curse, I'll do it! *she pulls the gem to her body*

Emma: _There is no way I'm gonna let her do it. This is my only chance to become Regina's wife_. *She pulls the gem to her side*

Regina: _I can't let her have it. She is going to be my lover._ *She pulls her to her side*

Emma: Regina, let go!

Regina: No! *she pulls again, but the jewel flies through the air and hits the TV's screen*

Emma: Oh uh *the gem shine with a powerful dark light that engulf our heroines completely*

TBC

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**Enjoy the chapter? Let me know ;)**


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